Wonder Woman: The Series
by althechi
Summary: The story of the Amazonian Princess, serialised. An attempt at making a series better than any generated from that failed pilot a few years back. 1x02: "Blue Christmas" (A jilted scientist! A dangerous invention! A chilling crime-wave!) - Prologue up!
1. Book 1, Prologue - Pilot

_**Author's Notes:** Hey everyone! This is my attempt at doing a Wonder Woman series that would be truer to the character than the David Kelley attempt. I'm by and large adapting pre-Crisis (although you can see post-Crisis elements in here, for sure) to show that that period of Wonder Woman, however maligned, has its worth. I hope you enjoy this!_

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><p><span>PROLOG<span>

Our story begins thousands of years ago, back to the age when gods walked the earth with mortals, and when the actions of those who resided in Mount Olympus, in the skies above, still shook the ground below. It was then decided by the goddesses Athena and Aphrodite that the justice denied to so many souls for so long, would be meted out.

With the permission of Hades, the souls of women who had done naught but been faithful to their gods and had yet been struck down before their time were given new form and flesh, to populate a paradise island - Themyscira. Their task was to guard the gates to Tartarus, the abyss of the damned, and prevent any manner of man or demon from escaping.

But they were tricked, and brought to heel under Heracles and his army of thugs. Some of their number was abducted by Ares, to unknown nefarious ends. While the Amazons managed to defeat Heracles and expose Ares's subterfuge, the bands on their forearms remained forever as a mark of their shame.

However, not all was despair and loss. For in the wake of blood and fire there was new life - life brought to clay, moulded by Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, and the gods alike. Her child, imbued with strength and speed beyond her peers, was called Diana, named such as she represented a new breed of Amazon - one that marked the future as well as her heritage.

Nonetheless, there was a price - she would become the first Amazon to venture forth to Man's world, and reconcile women and men, gods and mortals. So said destiny. Hippolyta grieved; she had lost one daughter in her past life, was she to lose another now? Ares fumed, for the very notion of peace between the worlds was too much for him to bear.

But he was weak, imprisoned in Tartarus's domain - ironically, the same one guarded by the Amazons he had wished to destroy as penance for his defiance. He would wait millennia for his revenge, if need be. As it turned out, mere centuries would pass before his chance...


	2. Book 1, Chapter 1

_**Author's Notes:** And here we go with the origin story! It'll roughly follow the same story "beats" as the 2009 movie, but with slight tweaks. See the footnotes for any asterisks or references._

_Imagine, say, Liv Tyler as Diana and Anthony Montgomery as Steve Trevor for rough casting ideas.  
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><p><span>CHAPTER ONE: THE DAY THE WORLD CHANGED<span>

It was a bright spring day, with the sun high in the sky and a calm breeze billowing through the woods. It was the 4th day of the month of Skirophorion – Aphrodite's day – two centuries to the day since the Amazons freed themselves of their imprisonment by Heracles.

To the inhabitants of Themyscira, there was no indication that today would be different from any other – bar a deep, low hum, and a single, miniscule, dot on the horizon. The hum grew louder and louder as the dot grew in size.

Diana, daughter of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons and her friend Orana were the first to see and hear it as they were out riding on the northern peak, Mt. Erebus. They'd come to this point to test out a pair of _pédila_ – winged slippers – that had been a gift from Hermes.

It'd be unwise, of course, to do so in the city square. So, before of the crack of dawn, when Orana was busy sneaking into the Arms Gallery to take the precious sandals, Diana had taken their horses from the stables, and both had reached the peninsula before the sun rose.

Now, everything had changed. The two shaded their eyes and gazed towards the horizon. Orana turned to her companion.

"Diana, what is it?"

The dot had now become a shape; a giant, headless, bird. Its metal wings glinted in the morning sun.

"I cannot tell. Its wingspan outstrips anything I've ever seen, Orana."

"Maybe one of Hephaestus's pet projects got loose again."

Diana sighed, and turned back to her companion. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Perhaps…we should take a closer look?" asked Orana, while coyly holding up the winged slippers.

Returning the same look, Diana got to one knee, quickly unlacing her own footwear.

=w=

High above them and far away, the object of their interest neared them with every instant. It was a UB-12, one of the United States Air Force's latest toys, armed with a brand-new Triskelion missile, with a payload of 6 tons of TNT. One of these was enough to lay waste to a good part of a city.

Inside, its pilot, Captain Steven Rockwell Trevor, was going over the same doubts in his mind as he had during the mission brief. The mission was simple enough: test the Triskelion on a simulated island in the middle of nowhere. But why choose this podunk island in the middle of the Atlantic that nobody had ever heard of before, and not Gravett Island, the usual test site?

He'd asked the same question of his CO, Colonel Phil Darnell. Phil had replied like a man possessed. Something also was unsettling about Phil's new aide-de-camp…what was her name? Kyrie? He'd gotten the same vibe from his co-pilot, some trainee from Edwards Air Base, Cadet First Class Apati.

Well, nothing for it. Time to test out the long-range scanning systems; radar showed nothing, sonar revealed a test probe three km behind and increasing, and telescoping infrared camera showed...life signs? That couldn't be right.

He re-calibrated it. Enhanced it as far as it would go. There were life signs, all right. Human-sized ones, too. He activated the telephoto forward camera. A screen shifted from the spec view to one showing the next hundred km or so.

Sure enough, among the buildings, there were people, all right. The buildings seemed to be old-style ones, too, hardly the usual suburbs they tested the USAF's toys on. Steve bit his lip. Surely there'd been some snafu along the way. There's no way they could've ordered a missile test on _live __civilians_.

"_Rockefeller to Home One. Long-range scans show civilians on Redland. Reconfirm coordinates. Over."_

A pause.

"_Home One to Rockefeller. Coordinates are correct. Over."_

What?

"_Rockefeller to Home One. Resend. Over."_

"_Coordinates are correct. Proceed with test. That is an order. Over."_

Maybe age had gotten to the old man's head.

"_Impossible. Definite civilian presence. Reconfirm. Over."_

Suddenly, a new voice sounded. "Enough!"

It was his co-pilot. Steve wheeled around – and gasped in horror. His co-pilot was mutating, shifting shape even. The usual flight-suit was falling off in strips, to reveal a demoniac woman in some kind of armour. Before the image could even register, Steve felt the roof fall away, and in the next moment, he'd been ripped out of his own cockpit.

=w=

As Diana came closer and closer towards the bird, it became evident that it was no bird – its wings did not flap, and she could even see someone in the "head" of the metal creature from far. Suddenly, she heard a series of loud _crack_s, and small pieces of metal came flying towards her.

Reacting instinctively, she raised her arms to guard. She managed to deflect some of the pellets with her bracers, but there were too many, all coming too fast. Three, four, grazed her arms and chest, and she cringed in pain, leaving the strange craft to pass her with an ear-splitting _SWOOSH_.

Diana bit her lip, and turned to pursue the craft. Whoever was inside was no friend to her or her sisters.

=w=

Inside the plane, Apati*****, now in her true form, was surprised and marvelled. This was certainly a change; Ares had said nothing about the Amazons being able to _fly_. Still, nothing would stop her from carrying out her goal. And what a noble goal it was, destroying the accursed Amazons.

This would show her sisters that she, the spirit of Deception, was the most worthy of Ares' three daughters. What had Kyriefsi and Pleonexia done? Pour honeyed words in that crusty old colonel's ear? Filled him with foolish notions of pride and ambition? Still, nothing they could say or do could change the fact that the hand that would crush those peace-loving fools would be hers.

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a sudden _CRASH_ on the left side of the plane. Blow after earth-shattering blow rained on the wing of the UB-12. She glided to the front seat, and saw it: that same Amazon, arms and body bruised and bleeding, trying to tear off the left wing.

She could deal with that later. Now, her mission from father was all that mattered. With a swift pull on the trigger, it was done. The Triskelion missile shot forth, rippling through the air around it as it left. Now the Amazons' fate was sealed.

=w=

All Orana could see from where she stood was a single blazing arrow, speeding forth from the…whatever it was. It clearly had hostile intent; nowhere that she knew used violence as a greeting. She clambered upon her horse, and was about to turn around, when she saw the other mount, without its rider.

Diana had left to see what that strange craft was; now that it had attacked Themyscira, how safe could she be? Orana paused for a few moments, before deciding that the best she could do for her friend was to rally her sisters to strike against their foe.

=w=

Once the blazing bolt had left the craft, Diana realized that attacking it had no use, and entered a low swoop, pushing through the turbulent air to chase the arrow. Inside the plane, Apati smiled to herself. With that annoying girl out of the way, she could now afford to have some fun. Her target grew nearer and nearer, and she could begin to pick out single trees and animals.

Diana sped towards that missile launched against her island and her people, trying to overtake it and stop it from the front. She knew of her birthright; the natural strength that all Amazons had, a gift from Artemis, goddess of war and wisdom. She could only hope it was enough.

The missile struck like a charging auroch. Diana stood strong against it, tensing her shoulders against its blazing tip. It was no good; it simply had too much force pushing it forward. Slowly, excruciatingly, she tried to turn it aside. It gave, but barely a little. There was nothing to brace against, yet she had to try.

Bit by bit, inch by inch, the missile moved. The pain was incredible. Diana was on the verge of blacking out. Biting her lip to stay conscious, she pushed ahead. She could not give up. Not when her people were under threat. Feeling her right shoulder buckle, she turned around, trying to divert the deadly arrow by her other side.

=w=

Inside the UB-12, Apati nearly balked. What she was seeing was impossible – the girl was _pushing_ the missile off course! Her smile gave way to a grimace as she remotely activated the thruster. With any luck, it'd also fry that fool as a bonus.

=w=

The starboard thruster fired, attempting to push the rocket back on course. The strain was incredible. Diana felt the blaze of the thruster, but cared not. Thank Hestia for her gift – no human flame could hurt a true Amazon. Diana gritted her teeth, slowly climbing up the missile, heading towards its engine.

A mighty blow sundered the fuel lines, and another smashed through the motor. Again and again, she pounded on the rocket, until its power was totally spent. With one last heave, Diana flung the deadly missile to its side, sending it spinning out of control, and away from Themyscira.

=w=

Orana rode quickly, desperately, into the heart of the city, straight up the palace steps. There, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, had begun assembling her forces. Troops ran back and forth, some pulling out ballistae and catapults last used by the forces of Heracles. In the middle of all was a massive cannon, forged by the Amazons themselves.

Hippolyta turned to Orana as the latter dismounted and knelt before her queen.

"My queen, we are attacked."

"I know, Orana. I do not know how, but we must destroy it before-"

"Not just that, my queen!"

Hippolyta's eyes narrowed. "What else?"

"Your daughter; she has flown to intercept the blazing bolt the intruder launched."

"What? Take me to her, Orana. Nathifa, take charge!"

The consul nodded in response. Together, Hippolyta and Orana headed hastily to the western isle.

=w=

Apati swore to her father and his uncle Hades when she saw the missile deflected. For everything to go awry on the cusp of her triumph; it was too much to bear. No matter. The missile would still go off, taking that fool Amazon with it.

There was only one other option now, though. It would do, she supposed. It would not be easy, though, judging by the forces the Amazons had assembled. The plane began to turn in a large circle, eventually facing the island again. The Amazons would not stop their doom. She swore to it.

=w=

Diana flew as fast as she could, away from the missile and towards the man who now floated slowly, languidly, towards the open sea. Surely he would have some answers, some explanation for this outrage. In a matter of seconds, she had scooped up his unconscious form in her arms.

She looked at his face. It seemed so alien yet so familiar to her. Surely, he had the same features as any other…but his eyes, his nose, his jaw…they was so different from any of her friends, from anyone she had known her whole life. And yet, looking again at him…could this be the face of a man who would wreak so much havoc on her home?

Then, her world exploded in a surge of sound and fury as the first of the three warheads detonated. The shockwave hurled her and the man through the open skies. It was too much, all too fast. Sky and sea and land and sky zoomed past her eyes, swirling, mixing together...

=w=

The two arrived just in time to see Diana and the man fall through the air. Hippolyta screamed for her daughter as she dashed to the shore, with Orana in quick pursuit. What horror was this? What terrible new weapon had Man's world devised, that could blind the skies and shock the earth so?

They rode to the shore, heading towards Diana's body, gently bobbing in the water. Hippolyta prayed to the gods, hoping there might be life left in her daughter. The moment their mounts had reached the water's edge, Hippolyta leaped to the ground and dived into the open sea.

Fighting the current every part of the way, Hippolyta reached her daughter, and then let the sea bring them to the shoreline. With strong, controlled, pushes, Hippolyta desperately tried to purge the seawater from Diana's lungs.

After minutes that seemed like eons, Diana coughed up the last of the water, weakly opening her eyes.

"…Mother?"

Hippolyta's tear-stained eyes were directed to the skies above, as she mouthed prayers of thanks to Athena and Aphrodite. She looked back down at the beaten and battered form of her daughter.

"Diana? Can you move?"

With great agony, Diana pushed herself to her feet, and turned to see the craft still headed on its deadly course.

"The…the craft…" was all she could manage before she collapsed to her knees.

Hippolyta helped her into the saddle of her horse, and too mounted the horse, turning to Orana as she did so.

"I am returning to the city square. Orana, take a squad with you. Search the hills for the man and bring him to me."

"Yes, my queen."

With no other words, the two sped off in their different directions, one to defend her home and the other to find the man responsible for their plight.

=w=

The plane began to reach the end of its circle, and now was set dead straight, aimed at the hated Amazons' city square, specifically their central stronghold, which housed the gates to Tartarus. Apati could now see the faces of the Amazons – the scared, confused rabble that had assembled to confront her.

Spears and arrows flew past the sides of the UB-12 ineffectually. One bolt that struck on target simply bounced off the windscreen. Laughing maniacally, Apati pulled the triggers on the Vulcan cannons mounted on the plane, raining death and destruction on the warriors.

Then, their ballistae and catapults fired, denting the wings. Gritting her teeth, she piloted the plane through the hail of missiles. Nothing would save the Amazons now. Nothing. Not even the massive cannon they had primed in the centre of the city square. The incredible beam of cosmic energy it emitted was easy enough to dodge.

Now, there truly was nothing in her way. Apati closed her eyes and glided through the primordial planes in the instant before the inevitable.

=w=

Hippolyta had barely managed to make it to the steppes overlooking the city square when she saw it. The massive metal structure tore through masonry and tiles alike, finally colliding with the massive door that barred Tartarus from the rest of the world.

The explosion was incredible, shaking nigh the entire island. Hundreds, nay, _myriads_ of souls of those doomed to suffer eternal torment in the plane tore through the veil between dimensions, escaping into the air above. Then an enormous hand ripped through the earth, followed by a shoulder, then a head.

It was Ares, god of war and the one who hated the Amazons so singularly. He stared down at his foe-women, who were unto insects compared to him. Their attacks against his body seemed to do absolutely naught. Then he turned, and saw Hippolyta. They locked gazes, one with apprehension, and the other with total hatred.

In a smooth, silky, yet utterly menacing tone, Ares spoke, "Hippolyta."

Through gritted teeth, the queen spat out a bitter, "Ares."

"Ah. It's good you recognize me, my dear. It comforts me that you shall know who will be responsible for your doom. And yes, it will soon come, for you and your pathetic sisters. And…"

He tilted his head.

"…your daughter, too. You will all fall, and with that your message of peace and love will die too. Offending Ares, my dear, is a mortal sin."

Hippolyta simply stared back. "You will try."

"I will succeed."

With a final burst of grim laughter, he too shot up into the skies, following his formerly-exiled kin to wherever they intended to go. Having nothing left to do, Hippolyta started a slow canter down to the city square, to survey the damage done and to bring her daughter to medical aid.

=w=

Deep in the north-eastern forests, Steve Trevor found himself awake and hanging a good three feet off the ground. He looked up to see his parachute, tangled in the canopy. A few deft strokes with his combat knife freed him from his harness, and he landed on the forest floor – awkwardly.

Scooping himself up, and trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder, Steve drew his standard-issue Colt M1911A1******, loading a full magazine in. He placed it back in its holster. Hopefully, he'd only need to use it as a last resort – after all, those civilians probably wouldn't know the full picture.

Steve wandered around the forest, trying to look for signs of civilisation anywhere. He didn't have much luck; all there was to see was pretty greenery, birds, little creatures, and the occasional doe. After a while, he headed to a ridgeline, hoping to get a better view.

From the cliff, he saw the sea, the shore, and a small cluster of buildings. He whipped out his binoculars, and began taking a closer look. Sure enough, the buildings looked like something out of a picture book on the ancient times – all marble and pillars and statues. There wasn't a single post box, telephone cable, or carpark in sight. Had he parachuted through a time vortex?

He then saw the inhabitants – and they too were utterly archaic, too. Medics in some kind of togas and tunics were carting wounded soldiers in breastplates and skirts around. Scanning through them, Steve started to think something was bizarre, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Then he realised it. There wasn't a single man or child there. So not only had he travelled into the past, he'd also been zapped into some weird parallel dimension with no Y-chromosomes either. Great.

He didn't have much time to muse on his adventures in space-time, as a spear came sailing through the air, landing mere feet from him. Someone was shouting – sounded like Greek.

"(_Ekeí eínai! Piáste ton!) There he is! Get him!"_

Even though the words were unfamiliar, the tone certainly was. Steve got to his feet and dashed straight back into the forest.

=w=

Orana and a squad of four others followed in tight pursuit. It had taken some time, but they'd finally caught the man who'd fled from his craft, spying upon the House of Hygiea where they'd been tending to their wounded comrades.

The first attack had fallen a little short, but that was the intent; tire him out such that it'd be easier to catch him without violence. Now began the chase into the forest. The Amazons ducked and weaved through the branches and trunks, catching up to their quarry with every step.

There! Despite the dull green of his clothes blending with the leaves and branches, their sharp eyes could still pick him out. Arrows and crossbow bolts sailed through the air, some only striking wood, others falling short to the ground. The man made a hard turn left – his first mistake.

Steve clambered out into a forest clearing. Before he could go back into the vegetation they were on him. As the first – a red-headed Amazon warrior pulled her arm back to launch her spear, Steve pulled out his weapon, and yelled once.

"STOP!"

She didn't seem to understand that.

"Uh…'_ΣΤΆΣΗ'_! (STOP!)"

Orana paused for a moment. Was he speaking some horribly mangled version of the tongue? No matter. She prepared to make the throw. Then, he pulled the trigger on his miniscule bow with no limbs, and she felt her horse fall from under her. Reacting quickly, Orana did handspring off the forest floor to face her foe again.

Steve pulled off another shot – only to have it deflected by the Amazon! Before he could even wonder just how fast she had to be, the gun was out of his hands, and he felt a grip like steel around his wrist. In moments it had gone completely numb, and he was on his knees now.

Desperately, he tried to strike her in the leg with his knife – to no avail. The horrible pressure on his arm was too much to take, and he fell unconscious in seconds. The battle ended, Orana delivered the fallen man to the others, and tended to her horse.

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><p>* Deception<br>** Mk. IV Series 80


	3. Book 1, Chapter 2

_**Author's Notes:** See footnotes for the *s._

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><p><span>CHAPTER TWO: THE CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS (BULLETS AND BRACELETS)<span>

When Diana came to, she awoke in an endless field of green, with the sun high and bright in the sky. However, everywhere seemed so…cold. There was a sharp, chill wind in the air, one that seemed to cut through to the bone, even. There was no life, either, and solid stone hills walled off the world.

She then realised she was not alone. In the middle of the fields, there was a man tending to a small patch of poppies of all colours, from a blood-red to a bright yellow. He was a dark man, dressed in a dark cloak, with ebony-black eyes. With a smile, he turned to Diana.

"_Greetings, my child."_

She took a tentative step closer to him. "Who are you? Where am I?"

The dark man put his tools down, and approached her too.

"_I am Morpheus, Lord of Dreams. You stand at the gates of the Elysian fields, daughter of Hippolyta."_

Diana paused, then stuttered, "Then…I…"

"_Oh, not quite yet. Your wounds should heal themselves quite nicely. Our meeting here is simply out of convenience."_

"What meeting?"

"_Apollo and his Oracles wish me to pass on a few choice messages – a little aid on your path."_

"My path?"

With a patient tone, Morpheus replied, _"My child, it'll do you no good to simply repeat what I say. At any rate, you stand on the cusp of what is to be the single most important event of your life."_

"Which would be…?"

"_The man whom you rescued must be returned to his land. You will be the one to do so. But you will be no mere courier – such will mark the first time any Amazon has dared to return to what you call 'Man's World'."_

"Then…I am to be an emissary?"

"_Of sorts. The path will not be easy, of course. Ares is free, and will stop at no end to destroy you. And 'Man's World' has its own share of danger. Come, take a look."_

With a rather dramatic swoosh of his cape, Morpheus lifted the veil through dimensions, revealing a multitude of images. Among them were scenes of destruction in unfamiliar cities, men wielding strange weapons, and an assembly of colourful foes; one was dressed in a deep blue cloak, another resembling a large cat, and a tiny man with large, bloodshot eyes.

"Who are they? What does it all mean?"

"_Alas, I wish I knew. To quote Apollo, 'the future is ever-mutable'. You shall have to find out on your own, my child."_

Diana pouted. "So much for 'aid', o lord of dreams. Why call me for such vague premonitions?"

"_Because…there are things even the Queen of the Amazons is hesitant to tell her child. But you'll see that soon enough. Now, I believe it's time for you to wake up…"_

With that, he raised a poppy to his lips, and gently blew its pollen in Diana's face. Slowly, gradually, she felt her eyes open…

=w=

Diana awoke, upon a simple bed lined with down. Her arms and chest had been wrapped with bandages – now showing a few dark stains. A nurse, Eugenia, was overlooking her.

"You're awake!"

With a yawn, Diana replied, "That I am, Sister Eugenia. How am I?"

"The punishment you took was incredible, Diana. Few others could have survived it. And yet…with the aid of our healing magics and some medical skill, you should be fine in a day's time."

"The others…?"

Darkness shrouded Eugenia's eyes. "Some…fell to the craven attack. Others could not survive the loosening of the gates."

Diana sat bolt upright, cursing as the pain in her arm rose. "The gates?"

"Aye, the craft our foe used breached through the gates of Tartarus, unleashing its prisoners…and Ares."

"And the man?"

"I believe he is in the next ward. But you must get some rest-"

Diana got up, and began to wrap her _peplos _around her, fastening it at her shoulders with two pins and at the waist with a simple cord. Eugenia pulled at her other arm, trying to hold her back

"Look, you're in no shape-"

"I'm sorry, Eugenia, but I must do this."

With that and a closed door, the argument was finished. Diana took step by slow and stilted step down the marbled hallways. A rabble of voices grew louder and louder as she approached the room where Eugenia said the man was.

Diana threw the doors open, revealing the tableau inside. The man was seated, arms and legs restrained to an oaken chair. Hippolyta and Nathifa both stood in front of him, with the former firmly gripping the rope. Orana stood guard at the door, and re-sheathed her blade upon recognising Diana.

Hippolyta turned to Diana. "Ah, my daughter. How are your wounds?"

"I should be walking in a day's time, mother."

Her mother paused to raise her eyebrow a notch. "At any rate, it is good that you've come at this time. I believe our guest is about to come to. Do you recognise this, Diana?"

She held the cord up. It shone a brilliant gold – an ethereal shine, even.

"Gaia's girdle!"

"One and the same. We shall use it to extract the truth from our guest, uninvited as he is."

As if on cue, Steve Trevor had ended his crawl back to consciousness, head still swimming. His eyes flitted lazily from right to left, before coming to focus on the four Amazons before him. He then pulled himself up – as much as his restraints could let him, and began gesticulating wildly.

"Hey-what's going on here…wait! I recognise you! You were the one who saved me!" he exclaimed, while gesturing to Diana. Then he locked gazes with Orana. "…and you're the one who kicked my ass!…and I don't recognise either one of you."

All the while, the same words, except translated into the local tongue, echoed around the room. Hippolyta remained unfazed by the man's outburst.

"I am Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. This is Nathifa, my consul. The one who saved your life is my daughter, Diana. The one who bested you in combat is Orana, an Amazon warrior. Now, who are you?"

The girdle glowed once, and the words flowed easily from his mouth. "Captain Steven Rockwell Trevor, United States Air Force, service no. 05091893."

"Why did you come to Themyscira?"

"That information is classified. I cannot divulge it."

Gripping the girdle tighter, Hippolyta asked again, "Why did you come here?"

Now the words came out one by one, almost being spat out. "I-I-cannot-I-sent-was sent here to test the new Triskelion missile."

He paused.

"Now how did that just happen?"

"No being restrained by the girdle may speak falsehoods, Steven Rockwell Trevor. What is the Triskelion missile?"

Steve stared right into Hippolyta's eyes. "We'll just see about that-that-is-to say…the BGM-111 Triskelion missile is a new missile with three warheads, specifically designed for urban and suburban combat. Projections estimate destruction of up to four city blocks. Per warhead."

While he cursed and swore at his inability to keep his mouth shut, the four Amazons stood shocked. Hippolyta turned to Diana.

"It is as I feared. In our absence, mankind has merely discovered new ways of killing themselves."

She picked up the strange weapon that the stranger had brought. "And what is this? It somewhat resembles a crossbow, but I see neither string nor limbs on it."

Steve bit on his lip, this time trying not to mutter a single syllable. However, he could only offer a few brief moments of resistance before he had to speak again. "Gah! It's called a gun. It's more like a small cannon. If you pull the trigger, explosives in the bullets fire small pellets at your target. Happy now?"

"Hardly. You have merely shown us more weapons of destruction. Now, how came you to speak our tongue, no matter how garbled?"

"Went to Greece on a NATO exercise once."

"What is 'NATO'?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Short for 'North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. It's a bunch of countries that united to face a common threat."

"And what threat is that?"

"The Soviet Union."

"Why were they so afraid of this union?"

"It had thousands of missiles far more powerful than the one I described. If it unleashed them all, civilisation as we know it would end."

Hippolyta turned to Nathifa, muttering, "It is worse than that. New weapons of war, never-ending conflict…Ares indeed has chosen a most fortuitous time for his escape."

"Perhaps it is the time as foretold in-"

Hippolyta suddenly raised her voice. "No! Do not even speak of it! Not here, at least." She turned to their captive. "We shall decide your fate later. Nathifa, come with me. Diana, Orana, watch him."

"Sure. I'm not going anywhere, anyway," Steve replied, with a shrug.

=w=

Hippolyta and Nathifa moved out into the corridor, being closely followed by Diana, who was attempting to edge into the conversation.

"Nathifa, call the council. I personally shall oversee his trial – for the crime of attacking our land and our sisters."

Diana spoke. "Mother-"

Nathifa spoke, ignoring Diana. "With all due respect, my queen, I believe we should consult our patrons-"

Hippolyta replied, a tinge of anger in her voice, "Absolutely not. He will be tried, like any other interloper."

"This is a clear sign – the only such sign we have had in centuries! I will not stand by and simply let you ignore-"

Diana tried again. "Mother-"

"You know, as do all consuls, what the price would be! I am not about to pay such a heavy burden – not again!"

"Prophecy cannot simply be ignored, my queen! King Laius failed to grasp that, Odysseus attempted to defy his-"

"You will assemble the council or be removed-"

"MOTHER!"

Hippolyta turned to her daughter, hissing, "_What__?_"

"What prophecy are you talking about?"

She cast her sight downwards, only looking back up at her daughter after a long pause. All sound and movement seemed to have stopped, for that one moment in time. Finally, she looked back up into Diana's eyes.

"Very well. It is time you should know. Especially now. Come with me; we'll discuss it in my room. Nathifa, go consult them if you wish. I still wish to assemble the council."

Without another word, the two headed further down the corridor, while Nathifa did a quick march in the other direction.

=w=

Diana and her mother sat knee-to-knee upon Hippolyta's bed. The latter seemed to try to figure out how to start, finally deciding after long moments of contemplation.

She spoke, slowly and carefully, "Diana, do you remember our history? When we cast off the bonds placed by Heracles and his gang of thugs?"

"…You said my birth followed not long after."

"Correct; however, when you were imbued with the gifts from Athena, Aphrodite, Hestia, Hermes and the other gods, I was told there would be a price."

Diana started. "A price?"

"Yes. They told me that one day you would have to become the first of our kind to re-enter Man's world and thus lose immortality; to save the world when the ideals of peace and universal love were at their nadir. They gave you those gifts purely for that sole purpose."

"Mother, I think that time has come."

Hippolyta got up, pacing the chamber. "Why? Because one man has landed on this island? Because the gates of Tartarus have been thrown open thanks to him? He is a criminal, and will be tried as such. The gods can punish Ares and his ilk, by their own judgment."

"The gods have spoken, Mother. I am to go."

"And how do you know that?"

Diana explained, "In my…dreams, Morpheus passed on a message from Apollo and his Oracles to me. The man is to be returned to his land."

Hippolyta nearly spat. "Apollo! Morpheus! Who are they, to interfere? I will not let that intruder be returned to his land; our law demands a sentence, at the least!"

"He was not the one responsible, Mother! I saw him leave the craft before-"

"Enough, Diana! I won't hear another word! I will not lose another daughter to the treachery of Man's World. And certainly not to that one man! Do not be beguiled by him; my error in the centuries past led to the same tragedy."

"Another…? No, mother. He is innocent; I'll prove it to you!"

Diana stormed out of her mother's chambers, with Hippolyta in tight pursuit.

=w=

In the meantime, Steve had been trying to strike up some paltry conversation with Orana.

"…and so there've been no men on this island? For how long again?"

"Longer than your lifetime, mortal."

"Woah. I don't want to probe…"

Orana interjected. "You already have-"

"…but how do you…you know…there's got to be a lot of tension everywhere, and there's no men…"

The only response he got was a stony stare from Orana, and a barely raised left eyebrow.

"Okay, let's change the topic."

"If you wish," replied Orana, in a disaffected tone.

"So what's your deal? You seem to be best pals with the Queen's daughter."

"She and I have been friends since her childhood. That is all."

Confused, Steve asked, "Her childhood? She doesn't look younger than you…"

"We are all reincarnated souls, bar her. She…is a gift from the gods."

"Reincarnated? Gift from the gods? This is heady stuff…"

His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening once again, revealing Diana and Hippolyta. Orana greeted their entry, as did Steve, although considerably less seriously.

"My queen."

"Your Majesty! And…uh…your Royal Highness? Is that how it works? So what's it going to be? Hanging? Chopping my head off? Tying me up to a bunch of horses and sending them running in oppo-"

Hippolyta raised her hand to interject, but Diana was faster. "Nothing of the sort. I simply wish for you to answer a few more questions."

"Eh, ask away. Not like I can argue against this thing, anyway," Steve replied, looking down at the golden chain tied around him.

Diana gripped the other end of Gaia's girdle. "First, did you launch that attack against us?"

The chain glimmered.

"No. My co-pilot turned into some demon and threw me out of my own plane."

The three women in the room all turned to look at each other in silent consternation, before Hippolyta let out a barely mouthed, "Ares!"

Diana turned back to Steve. "Second, and most importantly, would you ever have launched that missile against our island?"

Steve looked at Diana right in the eyes, firmly stating each word. "Never…against…civilians."

Diana looked back at Hippolyta, obvious triumph in her eyes. "Is that enough answer for you? Surely there's no need to assemble councils now."

Hippolyta stared back in stony silence.

Interrupting the sudden unease, Steve spoke. "…so no disembowelment in my near future or anything like that? That's a good thing, ri-"

His only response was a slap upside the head by Orana.

=w=

Meanwhile, on Mars, in the Hellas Planitia, Ares had arrived in his long-abandoned throne room, where he had plotted and schemed for centuries past. Now, his legions had assembled in the crater, and his chief five lieutenants stood ready to greet him.

A magnificent cheer rose in the crater as he ended his slow descent. Despite his vestments being the torn and tattered ones of a prisoner instead of ones more worthy of a warrior, his presence alone was enough to inspire awe – and fear.

Awaiting him with his armour were his two sons, Phobos and Deimos*, and his three daughters, Kyriefsi, Apati and Pleonexia.**

The former two were aged demons, while the latter three still surged with the power of youth. Kyriefsi towered over her sisters in size and strength. Apati was thin and wan, and ever hiding behind a mask. Pleonexia was short and stout, her large belly ever groaning.

Upon their arrival of their lord and father, the five dropped to one knee and raised their arms in salute.

"_(Sta ópla!)_ To arms!"

Ares gave them a wave in response.

"_(Sta ópla_.) To arms."

With the passing of the last word, all he had to do was to stretch his arms out, and his five lieutenants got to work, putting his armour on him piece by piece. When Deimos passed him his helmet, though, Ares gently declined it.

"I don't think so. I shall be paying the witch a visit soon; no need for any awkward entrances. Phobos, Deimos, begin retraining the troops. My daughters, keep an eye on the Amazons, will you?"

Kyriefsi asked, "Are we planning our first strike soon, my lord?"

"Not…yet. There is little use in attacking them on their own homeland. We will lure them out into their so-called 'Man's World', then crush them in a single blow. Soon. Very soon."

With a click of his fingers, his war-chariot had pulled up to him, and he drove it to the heavens, spurring his horses on with a cry of "_Eia, eia, eia! Alala!_"

=w=

Diana paced around the ward where Steve had been placed, now chained by arm and leg to a marble slab of a bed, with a down cushion his only comfort – besides his company.

Hippolyta had conceded, and would be holding a contest of champions within the hour. The winner would not only gain that highest title among the Amazons – "Wonder Woman", but also escort Steve Trevor back to civilisation. There was only one thing wrong – Diana herself was barred from entering.

She was still mulling on the unfairness of this; after all, hadn't that prophecy, not to mention Morpheus, so clearly stated that she was to be the one to do so? Why was her mother so steadfast in not only trying to ignore, but outright defy prophecy?

Diana had stopped talking with Steve about an hour back. The things he'd been describing about Man's World – cities the height of mountains, chariots without horses that could cross vast distances in the blink of an eye, means of talking to people on the other side of the Earth instantly…it was too much to bear, hearing of these things, without ever getting the chance to see them.

Then, footsteps – two sets of them – began heading down the hall, directly to the cell. Diana nearly thought of drawing her blade; all were supposed to be assembled at the arena by now. Who would come here now? Had her sisters missed one escaping demon?

To her relief, it was merely Nathifa, with another Amazon, Lysistrata. The two stopped in front of the cell, and Diana stood to greet them.

"(_Kalimera_.) Good day."

"(_Kalimera_, Diana.) Good day, Diana."

"What brings you here?"

Nathifa took a seat. "I came here to talk."

"And Lysistrata?"

"All in good time, Diana. You must understand why your mother forbids you from entering."

"Why is that so?"

Nathifa took a breath, and cast her eyes to the floor. "I fear I breach her trust by mentioning this…but then again, you have a right to know."

A pause.

"In her past life, your mother was the victim of a man who hated her and her child, despite all the good the former had done and nothing the latter had. One day, in a fit of a rage, he struck the child down. Hippolyta tried to stop him, but he was too strong."

Another pause.

"Now do you see, Diana? She does not want to lose another child, prophecy be damned."

"I…see."

Nathifa stood now. "But you know the perils of attempting to defy prophecy as much as I do. This is your birthright, Diana. And though your mother may curse me forever for this…I cannot stand by and let this happen. Lysistrata will take your place."

With that, Nathifa produced a helmet – one which obscured the whole face. Diana stood, and accepted it, embracing Nathifa as she did so.

"Thank you-"

"Thank me not. Merely forgive me for this treachery, child."

Unsure of how to respond, Diana wore the helmet, and headed down the hall – to her destiny.

=w=

Soon, there were a hundred Amazons in the amphitheatre, all offering the Amazon salute to Hippolyta. They cheered as one.

"_Kalimera_!"

Returning the salute, Hippolyta opened the games.

"_Kalimera_! To the victor goes the spoils! Let the contest of champions begin!"

With that, a stunning array of competitions began, from the first run of the _dolichos_***, then to a race of the same length, on horseback, then a swim of one _stadion_, all in full battle armour. The numbers of Amazons who could continue dwindled and dwindled, until about a dozen were left for the final events; the mock-battles.

First conducted on horseback, then on foot, the Amazons, armed with wooden swords and shields, battled each other ferociously. One by one, Amazons fell to each others' blows, until there were but three contestants left: Diana, Orana, and Yeter, an olive-skinned Amazon.

As the judges solemnly brought the crossbows in, a great cheer erupted in the crowd.

"_Bolts and bracelets! Bolts and bracelets!"_

The three contestants took one bow each, and aimed it at the other, taking turn by turn to fire. The challenge was to deflect the bolt with the bracers, while also being able to fire back at one's quarry. Bolts bounced off against bracelets, as the three contestants attempted to outthink and outshoot the other.

At long last, as Yeter turned to fire on Orana, Diana pulled a quick shot at her elbow. It was enough, and once the bolt had drawn blood, the crowd exploded once again. Now, it was down to the last two, who shot and dodged and deflected for nearly five straight minutes with no clear result.

Then, Hippolyta raised her arm, and the two stopped and looked up. Hippolyta spoke.

"Bring the man's weapon…his 'gun'."

With that, the chant changed from "Bolts and bracelets" to a rapturous:

"_Bullets and bracelets! Bullets and bracelets!"_

Once the gun had been presented to Orana, Hippolyta raised her arm again.

"Each shall be given three shots with the 'gun'. If there is a draw, then I shall personally decide."

Silence reigned as Orana lined Diana up in her sights, each unaware of the other's identity. She squeezed off three shots to the body in quick succession – and Diana deflected all three. The tension in the air was nearly palpable as Diana prepared to take her three shots.

Orana deflected the first two, but Diana had delayed her last shot – just long enough. The bullet sailed past Orana's forearms – and landed squarely in her shoulder, bruising it heavily. The crowd went totally wild, and Hippolyta stepped forth to the balcony.

"Remove your helm, o champion, such that we will know your face."

With one smooth gesture, Diana threw off her helmet, revealing herself to all. Shocked gasps sounded one by one in the amphitheatre, not least from Hippolyta herself.

"But…daughter…no! No. No. This is indeed Destiny. I cannot deny it. Diana, my daughter and champion of the Amazons, I declare thee…'Wonder Woman'!"

With this, the crowd cheered one more time, all rising from their seats, arms raised in the Amazon salute. Diana raised her arms too, and belted out a lusty:

"_Kalimera!"_

To which the response was:

"_Kalimera! Kalimera! Kalimera!"_

=w=

With that, Hippolyta, still slightly confused, led Diana, Nathifa and Orana to the Grand Gallery of Arms.

There, upon a dais, was a special set of armour. The first part consisted of a cuirass, blood-red in colour, decorated with a golden eagle, with an omega symbol on its chest. At its bottom was a set of _pteryges_, blue as the wine-dark sea, and with a row of stars down its middle.

Lying next to them was the _pédila _which Orana had taken a few days ago, now returned to their rightful place and dyed the same shade of red as the cuirass. A tiara, with a red star at its centre, lay at the sandal's feet. And surrounding the four was the girdle of Gaia, its golden shine dancing in the candlelight.

"My daughter, you have earned this. From designs made by Hephaestus himself, our own artisans have prepared these. They should present a glorious enough figure for the people of the man's land; it is decorated with symbols he holds dear."

"It…is beautiful, Mother."

"Take these and this Lasso of Truth, forged from the Gaia's girdle itself. For you shall bring no sword to a world already marred with violence; only the truth. Diana…"

"Yes, Mother?"

"May the Gods themselves look upon you. The path ahead will not be easy, my daughter. You must keep your wits about you in Man's world; Ares' subterfuge will be everywhere. I…"

A single tear began to well up in Hippolyta's eye. Diana saw it, and rushed forward. For a moment that seemed to last eternity, mother and daughter embraced – for perhaps the last time.

* * *

><p>* Fear and Dread<br>** Conquest, Deception and Greed  
>*** About 4800m<p> 


	4. Book 1, Chapter 3

_**Author's Notes:** Footnotes, yadda yadda._

* * *

><p><span>CHAPTER THREE: JOURNEY TO ANOTHER WORLD<span>

In the mean time, near the isles of Scylla and Charybdis, the witch Circe would normally be busy peering into the lives of mortals in lands beyond, and concocting new brews and potions for whatever nefarious means. For now, though, she was content with feeding her pen of pigs.

Then, with a mighty _ka-ra-ka_ and an echo, Ares's war-chariot came thundering through the heavens, slowly circling the island till it came to graceful halt at Circe's feet. Ares stepped out, slowly, almost painfully, going to one knee, and kissing Circe's hand.

"You have my…gratitude, witch."

"Why so reluctant, o God of War? Surely giving thanks for revealing that little island to that little man for long enough is not so humbling?"

Ares glowered.

"Ah. Unless…of course…you have yet another favour to ask?"

Addressing the ground, Ares muttered, "Yes."

"Speak, then."

"The bonds the Amazons placed upon me prevent me from harnessing my full power."

"And you wish them removed?"

Ares nodded.

Circe paced her pasture for a while, thinking aloud, "Ah, but then, dear Ares, then I would lose my stake. And, tempting as it is for one to have the God of war in…service…"

Ares had had enough. Incensed, he got to his feet and placed his hand upon the hilt of his sword. "Enough, woman! You go too far!"

Circe pointed one finger in his direction, and her eyes glowed unnaturally. A bolt of overwhelming force struck Ares full in the chest. One step after the next became agonizingly difficult, till he could go no further.

Then, she spat out, "Sit. Down."

Ares had no choice but to comply, as his legs were forced down and he landed unceremoniously upon his gluteus maximus.

Circe continued, "If I agree to this, then I want a guarantee. Swear upon your honour – nay, your sword, that neither you nor your forces will harm me once I do this for you."

Ares raised himself to his knees, placing his sword on his hands. Staring right into her eyes, he said, "I swear."

A broad smile spread across Circe's face. "See? Now, was that so difficult?"

With a snap of her fingers, the chains on Ares's arms broke and fell apart. New energy surged through his body, and he stood to his full height, crackling with a new aura. His eyes now glowed with a crimson shine, too. Just as he turned to his chariot, Circe let out a polite cough.

"Ahem."

"What?"

Circe stretched out her hand once again. Ares, nigh brimming with rage, snatched it and laid a swift, bitter kiss on it, before he leapt into his chariot, riding back to his domicile. His cry of "_Eia, eia, eia! Alala!_"was drowned out by Circe's own mirthful laughter.

=w=

Cruising through the air at the same time was a Pegasus, white as the highest clouds, with two riders upon the saddle on its back. Diana sat at the front, holding the reins of the winged horse, while Steve sat behind her, holding on tenaciously to the saddle. An attempt to hold on to her, like a pillion-rider, had been quickly rebuffed.

Diana turned to her passenger, who looked rather green about the gills. "Come now, Steve Trevor. You flew here, after all. Why so sea-sick?"

"I was in a nice thick glass cockpit then, princess."

With a bright laugh, Diana spurred the horse onwards, forcing Steve to grip the saddle ever-tighter. They lowered from the clouds, and now the continents of North and South America, not to mention the Caribbean islands came into sight.

"You can help me now, Steven. See the land forms below us, and help me navigate to your homeland."

Steve unwillingly took a look down, and began gesturing with his foot. "All right, we're just past Cuba…Go north from Florida – that's the peninsula over there, and keep heading up. But stop well before Lake Ontario. You see those two bays? Take the southern one, and land on its east coast. That's Delaware. You can't miss Columbia City."

As she listened to Steve, she looked down on the new world she was about to enter, and the fantastic names of the places that she would soon know. Even the cities shone like gems across the benighted earth. What would this 'Man's World' be like? What of its people, and all those things Steve had mentioned? She could hardly wait.

=w=

It was night in Columbia City, Delaware. The city still had some small amount of hustle and bustle, but activity was beginning to dwindle to a slow crawl. Nonetheless, some children were still playing in the central park, watched over by their parents.

While the drone of aircraft was a common sound to all, there was now a new sound in the air: enormous flapping wings, growing louder and louder with each moment. Then they looked up, and saw the Pegasus high above them. Hubbub started up among those in the park.

One man asked the other, "Is that some…big bird?"

"Naw, man. It's horse."

"With wings? Get out!"

"Wait, it's got a rider!"

The winged horse landed in the field slowly and gracefully. All activity stopped, almost as if time itself had too. Everyone's eyes were on Diana as she and Steve stepped off, the latter still somewhat shaken from his trip. They moved aside as Diana took a cord and hitched the Pegasus to a thick tree.

A woman with a child in a pram looked on this whole scene, not quite sure what to make of it. She took a step back as Diana approached her, but Diana wore a gentle smile, and the lasso echoed with her calm words in English.

"At ease, sister. I merely wish to know where I may find this man's camp."

"C…camp? You mean the airbase?"

"That I do, sister."

"It's about…uh, ten miles north of here. Just go along Route 13 and you can't miss it."

Diana turned to Steve. "Well, then. Shall we?"

"Are you kidding? Walk ten miles?"

Diana rolled her eyes. "Oh, if you insist-"

She was about to gain a running start, when the woman yelled.

"Wait!"

Diana turned. "Yes?"

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I am…Wonder Woman. I have come to bring peace to the world."

With that, she grabbed Steve by the waist, and flew into the skies above, like a red and blue thunderbolt, leaving a stunned crowd in her wake. All the voices, in their multitude of sounds and personas, soon became a mélange of conversation.

"What'd she call herself?"

"Wonder Woman."

"Wonder Woman…you don't suppose she's another of those 'supers', do you?"

"And what'd she say…'bring peace to the world'? Kind of lofty, ain't it?"

"All I know is, chick like her shouldn't go around flying in a short skirt…"

=w=

Ten miles north, Diana and Steve reached a junction in the middle of nowhere. The two landed in the middle of the road, with Diana gently letting Steve on the ground. He felt the floor with his hand, almost as if to make sure that it was still there. Diana looked down at him with a bemused look.

"Are you all right, Steve?"

"I didn't know you could fly. Sure feels good to be on the ground again."

She responded by pointing at the wings at the heels of her sandals. With a somewhat comprehending nod, Steve got to his feet, leading the way down to the giant fenced compound. He gestured up to a floodlight on a high pole, with a camera mounted below it. A set of speakers adorned another pole.

"We're going to be asked to stop here. Just look at the box and smile, all right?"

Diana nodded. Sure enough, mere steps later, a brilliant light illuminated an oval on the ground, highlighting the two. A buzzing voice sounded from the klaxon.

"_Stop. Identify yourselves."_

"Captain Steve Trevor, service number 05091893."

"_Who is the woman with you?"_

"Her name is Diana. I invite her to the base as a civilian visitor. She will be crucial in my debrief."

"_Declare all weapons."_

"I have my standard-issue Colt. It's clear of bullets. She is only armed with a lasso."

Diana whispered to him, "Only?"

Steve whispered back, "Relax. They don't consider it a threat."

"The subtleties of warfare are lost on your…air force."

"Let me know the next time you have to round up bison at 20,000 feet."

"_You are cleared to enter. Get a pass for the woman at the office," _sounded the speakers, ending the conversation.

=w=

The air base was empty once they entered, bar some token manning of the perimeter and the office. However, one corridor's lights remained switched on. Steve and Diana approached the door, just as the latter was done attempting to pin the visitor pass onto her cuirass, finally picking one corner of the eagle.

Steve stepped forward, holding the door open for Diana. She stopped and gave him an odd look.

"You know I can open a door just fine, Steve."

"Well...it's the polite thing to do."

Stepping through the door, she asked, "Tell me, do men do this everywhere for women?"

"Far as I know", Steve replied, letting the door close.

"And all over the world, they assume we can't do it ourselves?"

"As I said, it's the polite thing. Whatever you make of that, I think you'd better let me handle this. General Darnell doesn't know you, after all."

Steve rapped on the door. A rasping voice shouted, _"__Come in__!"_

He tentatively pushed the door open, revealing a small office. At the near table was a blond secretary, with pitch black eyes. She stared at Diana as they moved into the office. Then there, at the far wall, was General Phillip Darnell, a military man with thin white hair but an impressive moustache. He was not happy.

"Trevor! Where the hell have you been? Last I heard from you, you didn't want to test the Triskelion, and now you're here! With this...woman? The hell's going on? And where's the UB-12?"

Steve stopped for a while, trying to figure out just how to start. "Well, sir, it's like this. When I saw civilians on the island, I was planning to turn around and recheck. Then my copilot ejected me out from the UB-12 and launched the missile. Next thing I know, this woman-"

He pointed to Diana with his thumb.

"-saved me. From what I gather, cadet Apati then crashed the UB-12 into the local structures. I was returned to civilisation by this woman, and here I am."

Time stopped for a moment as all General Darnell could do was stare blankly at Steve.

"Are you drunk, soldier?"

"No, sir."

"On medication?"

"No, sir."

"Sleep-deprived?"

"No, sir."

"Well, you must be one of the three, because that is the single most cockamammie story I have ever heard from a pilot in my entire service in the Force. I'm giving you a day to sort your mind out. If you can't come up with something better than that by this time tomorrow, I'm putting you on report."

"Sir?"

"Now get out!"

"Sir, yes, sir."

As Steve turned to exit, Diana could feel the stares of both the general and his aide almost on her. It was unsettling, particularly from the latter, what with her black eyes as deep as pits. Something about her seemed...familiar.

As soon as they were back in the hallway (this time with Steve simply pointing to the waiting handle), he spoke up, in a seemingly carefree tone, laced with bitterness.

"Well, that could've gone better. Maybe you could try convincing him with that lasso of yours."

"It'd only work in coercing you to tell the truth. I can't make him see what his eyes did not."

"Then you're looking at Steve Trevor, ex-Captain, USAF this time tomorrow."

Thinking aloud, Diana asked, "You said your other rider was called...Apati?"

"Yeah, why? You think I should have told Phil she turned into a demon and you plucked me out of the air and all about your island?"

Slightly annoyed, she responded, "No, simply that it means 'deception' in our tongue. And what of the general's...servant?"

"Funny you should mention her. She came in the same time as Apati did. Name's Kyrie...short for...Kyriefsi or something."

"Why, that means 'conquest' in our language!"

"All right, so maybe they all have weird names. What of it?"

Diana's eyes thinned as she looked back. "Something is wrong. I sense the hand of Ares in this."

"Well, all I know is, I gotta crash for the night. We'd better get your horse back first, though."

"I can summon it-"

"Oh, no, princess. This time, I drive. Return the pass at the office, will you? I'll see you outside."

"But..."

"No 'buts'. I need to get my ride back home, anyway."

With that, the argument ended. Diana unclipped the pass from her breastplate, wondering just what Steve's 'ride' was.

=w=

She stepped outside, to see Steve now dressed in a jacket and a full-face helmet, and straddling a strange machine with two wheels - one at the front and one behind, both in one line. He rotated one of its handles, making it roar akin to a beast. Some parts of the machine seemed to resemble a steam engine.

Looking at Diana, he said, "Pretty sweet, eh? It's the best I can get on a pilot's salary. Get in the back. I'd tell you to put a helmet on, but it looks like you don't need it."

With a smile, Diana walked over and sat behind Steve, in the same way he did.

"Now hold on, princess."

"On to what? Your saddle doesn't have -"

Before she could finish, he had already started the engine, and they were charging down the road at an incredible speed - faster than any beast on land she knew. She found herself holding on to his shoulders - an act he seemed to appreciate a little too much.

"You Amazons can keep your flying horses, as far as I care. I'm happy enough with my Suzuki," Steve said, yelling to be heard over the noise.

"Is that what this is called? A 'Suzuki'?"

"The brand is. This type of vehicle's called a 'motorbike'."

"A 'motorbike'. I see. A horse has a benefit of quieter, Steve Trevor."

"Well, then there's hardly any fun in that, is there?"

As they were talking, neither of them noticed a small dot on the horizon at first. Then, as they approached, it became evident that it was in the shape of a person - a rather large one, too. It was taller than either Steve or Diana, and it seemed to be carrying something heavy in its hand.

Steve spoke up. "The heck? Who's going to be on the road at this time?"

He slowed the bike down, just as the figure raised its load - then brought it down to the ground. With a mighty wham, the whole earth shook, the tarmac even cracking slightly. The bike was thrown off the road, and Diana barely could grab Steve before he ended up as part of the wreck. She put him down, then turned to the figure.

It charged first. As it neared, she saw its form - a giant, demoniac mockery of an Amazon warrior, wearing merely a cuirass and _balteus_, with greaves on its legs and bracers on its arms. It hissed and roared as it stepped forth, staring at Diana with its pitch-black eyes.

"(_Diana, i kóri ton Amazónon! Eímai Kyriefsi, kai tha thriamvéfsei páno sas!_) Diana, daughter of the Amazons! I am Conquest, and I shall triumph over you!"

She pulled out her lasso, ready to use it. "(_Óchi an écho na po, téras_.) Not if I have a say, monster."

They charged at each other, with Steve on the side of the road, unable to do naught but watch. Kyriefsi brought her massive gladius - it was nigh five feet long - into view, cutting and slashing as she moved forward. Diana adeptly blocked her blows with her bracers, looking for an opportunity to strike.

It came the instant Conquest put a little too much force into her swing; a moment of lost balance meant that a simple throw landed her on her back. A swift kick to the wrist dislodged the sword from her hand. Diana unreeled her lasso and wound it around the monster's neck.

"(_Míla! Poios sas ésteile?_) Speak! Who sent you?"

Kyriefsi, with a defiant stare, spat out, "_(Áris, athánatos theós tou polémou_!) Ares, deathless god of war!"

Diana started. _"Ares!"_

The brief moment where Diana processed this was enough for Conquest to regain her weapon and the advantage. She sprung to her feet, knocking Diana off hers, and discarded the lasso around her neck. She faced Diana with a mirthless smile.

"_(Synécheia mou - an tolmáte!_) Follow me - if you dare!"

Then she turned and charged – not towards Diana, but towards Steve, who was attempting to right his motorbike. Steve looked up, his expression akin to that of a deer caught in hostile headlights. He instinctually drew his knife and held it in front of him, for all the good that would've done.

Thankfully for him, Diana tackled Kyriefsi full in the back, throwing the lasso around her arm. Conquest pulled her along with a sudden jerk, and soon both were heading in the opposite direction – back towards the base.

Steve watched the battle in the sky from where he was. He quickly set his bike back up, and rode towards where they were headed. Whatever happened, hopefully he'd be able to help explain the whole mess.

=w=

Diana and Kyriefsi traded blows in mid-air, spinning towards the ground as each tried to gain control of the melee. The airbase grew closer and closer, and as someone noticed the struggle in the sky, a floodlight shone into the sky, illuminating the two.

Soldiers began to mill out of the base, watching the battle above them. The sentries nervously began to finger the loaded magazines in their pouches. Some began to discuss among themselves, while watching the scene unfolding before them.

"The hell's going on up there?"

"Isn't one of them that chick with Captain Trevor?"

Another voice boomed. "Whatever it is, watch them. Shoot them if they attack the base. And if that woman is the same, I want an ID on Trevor's location now."

Both men wheeled around to see their CO, who was putting his jacket on.

"Err…yes, sir."

Looking around, General Darnell asked, "Now, has anyone seen my ADC?"

"No, sir. She hasn't booked out, neither."

"Damn."

In the air, Kyriefsi now gained the upper hand, and used Diana's own lasso to snare her and send her hurtling towards the ground – right at the airbase's external wall. Diana made a goodly sized dent in the wall, and was barely getting up when Conquest charged full at her, sending both women right through to the interior of the base.

The dust cleared to reveal two figures on the floor; Diana, who had regained her lasso, and General Darnell's aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Demi Kyriefsi. Her jet-black eyes stared triumphantly at Diana as she hollered to all that would hear.

"Help! Help! She's attacking the base!"

General Darnell and the soldiers on the wall wheeled around to see his aide on the ground, bruised and bloodied, and the woman from before standing before her, her arms raised.

"I mean no harm-"

Before she could finish, Darnell turned to the sentry. "Open fire!"

Stunned, the sentry could only let out a, "What?"

"She's already displayed hostile intent, soldier!"

"But she-"

General Darnell's eyes flashed a brilliant crimson as he grabbed the sentry's XM177* rifle. "Oh, for the love of god!"

He opened fire on Diana, who deflected the majority of the bullets. Still, a solitary pellet managed to get past her bracers, marking her cheek. Incensed, she flew straight at Darnell, grabbed his rifle, and broke it on her knee. The second guard had barely changed magazines when his gun got the same treatment.

With that, she flew off into the night. Darnell's only response was to draw his M1911A1 pistol and fire after her, before one of the sentries grabbed his arm.

"Err, sir, she's well outside the camp perimeter now."

"Hmm? Right. Damn. Send out word of her appearance, her so-called 'superpowers' – everything. And find that Trevor! He must be mixed up in all of this."

The red glow dissipated from his eyes, which now fell on his fallen aide. With a gasp, he shouted, "Demi! Are you all right?"

She gave a nod as she got up, and her gaze moved from her boss to the ever-shrinking figure in the sky. She allowed herself a broad smile. Ares's plan was going perfectly.

=w=

Steve was headed back to the base when he saw Diana heading in the opposite direction – towards him. Seconds later, she was past him, and gesturing to follow. He paused, looking at the cloud of dust rising from the walls. A moment later, he was following Diana. Something told him he should help her, if questions came flying.

About twenty minutes later, they were back in the park, and Diana had sent the Pegasus flying off to…well, elsewhere. A couple of stunned park goers just stared off into the space it previously occupied. Steve stopped the motorbike on the dirt track and ran up to Diana.

"Hey, what happened back there?"

"Those…men…failed to see with their eyes. They attacked me once Kyriefsi escaped. I disarmed them, and here we are."

Steve nervously asked, "You didn't…kill…anyone, did you?"

Diana gave him a long look. "Of course not. Their minds were being clouded by Ares. I have no doubt that Kyriefsi was doing so for him."

"Good luck trying to get that to hold up in court. Look, it's late, and you know as well as I do that we both need rest. And unless you want to go _al fresco_, there's my place."

"Very well. Lead on, Steve Trevor."

Steve looked at her before realizing she was gesturing to his bike. As they rode home, even her strong but gentle grasp couldn't put any of his doubts to rest. What had he gotten himself into? How would it all end?

=w=

It was later that night, and Steve Trevor lay awake on his couch – Diana had taken the bed – and he was unable to fall asleep. His unease had only grown worse after he'd gotten a call from General Darnell, asking for his whereabouts. He'd given a perfunctory reply and pushed it to tomorrow.

The gravity of everything had finally settled on him. He was as much of a god-fearing citizen as anyone else – but now learning all sorts of myths were true, and that everything that happened was leading up to something cosmic? How much of the world that he'd taken for granted was real?

And what of his companion? There was no doubting it; she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. What did her redhead friend call her? "A gift from the gods"? She certainly seemed like one. If not for her, the whole experience seemed so…unreal. And even with her, he felt himself doubting it.

What sequence of events had led to him being together with her? What had he done…_to deserve her?_ He almost hoped that she never stop having to learn about "his" world – _never stop needing him?_

Steve shook himself from his state of half-consciousness, shocked at his own thoughts. Surely, he couldn't be so selfish? She had her own mission to fulfil, after all. Why did he assume that he'd always be there, to see it to its distant end?

He then realised that Diana was awake too, standing in his open doorway, in the same garb as he'd first seen her, barring the fact that it was made of one of his bedsheets, two safety pins and a belt lying around the house. She seemed troubled, too.

Looking up, Steve asked, "Can't sleep either?"

She nodded, and then moved towards the couch. Steve sat up to give her some room, and reached for the remote control.

"Well, let's see what's on."

The television – a puny 20-inch CRT – sputtered to life, showing a newscaster's talking head next to a shadowed and blurry photo of Diana.

"_If anyone has any news on the whereabouts or activities of this woman, kindly report-"_

He killed the broadcast. "Sorry, that didn't help."

"It's all right."

Steve snapped. "No, you don't get it! I don't get it either! This time yesterday, I had a pretty good grasp of what I knew about the world – about my whole life. But then I just had to be the one testing the Triskelion…it had to be crashing on your island of gods and myths and all that…and now, you're here – some "gift from the gods", and you need to stop another god from doing god-knows what and I mean I didn't even know gods existed – the big guy, maybe, but not the stuff you read in textbooks - before today…I mean, you've lived with this stuff all your life…do you understand what it's like, throwing everything you've assumed about the world you know out of the window and having to see everything for the first time again?"

Steve paused, drained. He looked up to see Diana looking into his eyes, a kind expression on her face.

"Yes I do, Steve. I do."

He looked back, as he slowly got what she meant. Finding it uncomfortable, he shifted his view to his slippers.

"Yeah…I guess so…but it's still so much…just so much…"

Diana got up, and reached for his guitar. "Perhaps I can help us both. Is this your lyre?"

Steve looked up. "Uh, yeah, but…"

She plucked at some of the strings, experimenting around till she got the sounds she wanted. Sitting back on the couch, she turned to him.

"This was a song my mother used to sing to me, on stormy nights when I could not sleep. Maybe it'll help you."

"Go ahead."

The opening chords rang from the heart of the guitar, and she began to sing in a smooth, gentle tone. Steve almost felt the couch rocking below him, like the steady movements of a cradle. They were relaxing, calming. He couldn't understand the words, but even then they sounded…beautiful.

"_O love, thou art victor in fight: thou mak'st all things afraid;  
>Thou couchest thee softly at night on the cheeks of a maid;<br>Thou passest the bounds of the sea, and the folds of the fields;  
>To thee the immortal, to thee the ephemeral yields;<br>Thou maddenest them that possess thee; thou turnest astray  
>The souls of the just, to oppress them, out of the way;<br>Thou hast kindled amongst us pride, and the quarrel of kin;  
>Thou art lord, by the eyes of a bride, and the love-light therein;<br>Thou sittest assessor with Right; her kingdom is thine,  
>Who sports with invincible might, Aphrodite divine.<em>_"**_

For that moment, all seemed right with the world; everything would end well. It couldn't last, but Steve slept easy that night.

* * *

><p>* M16 carbine<br>**POWER OF LOVE (from "Antigone") by Sophocles. This English translation, by Sir George Young, of 'Power of Love' is reprinted from Greek Poets in English Verse. Ed. William Hyde Appleton. Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1893.


	5. Book 1, Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4: THE END OF THE BEGINNING

It was the next morning, and Steve and Diana were walking through Columbia City, trying to get some new clothes for her. The way things were, walking outside in her usual garb would only have brought undue attention. He'd had to explain that someone wearing a sheet in public was no better.

So here he was, waiting outside a fairly cheap shop, for her to change out his own ill-fitting clothes into something more appropriate. Paper money had been a novelty to her, and he'd had to explain that Susan B. Anthony was the only woman to be immortalised in the US currency.

After a while, she came out of the store, decked out in a modest tank top and a pair of jeans that were just tight enough, a bag full of other clothes hanging from her arm. Steve tried his best not to gaze too long, but he couldn't help himself as he took his change back.

"You…look great."

"Why, thank you, Steve."

He looked at the bag. "What else did you get?"

"Have a look."

She pulled out a number of shirts and pants, and a casual dress. "They didn't have any tunics or chitons."

"Well, this isn't Ancient Greece any more, princess. Look around you; skin is in."

At that moment, a gaggle of teenage girls, all in belly shirts and short shorts, passed by. They were chattering about boys and school and other daily topics.

Turning her head, Diana said, "So I noticed. What's our next course of action?"

"Well, I still think it wouldn't be wise to show yourself just yet. The whole city's looking out for you."

To illustrate this point, Steve pulled out a copy of _The Columbia Column_. On the second page, a blurry photograph of Diana in her armour was beside an article about the events of the previous night.

Continuing, Steve said, "We can figure it out over lunch. Come, I'll show you what a good American meal tastes like."

As they walked through the city, now awake and alive, Diana wondered and looked around at all the new sights surrounding her. All of what Steve had said was true; buildings as tall as hills spread far and wide, horseless chariots – "cars" – roared past on all the roads, and images danced on screens all over the city.

One of them, in particular, attracted her attention. A man in a garish outfit, decorated in leopard print and with a fur draped over his shoulders was singing about women and money, while a number of scantily-clad women groped about him or danced sultrily behind him.

"Excuse me, Steve, but who are that man and those women?"

Steve stopped and turned. "Oh, that man's Kojo North. He's a rapper. Those women are his hangers-on, I guess. He's never anywhere without them."

"And what do they do?"

"They're eye candy, I guess. They're there to make him look good."

Diana asked, pointedly, "And they're satisfied with such a life?"

"It pays pretty good. More than what, say, I'd earn, even on an overseas mission."

"They don't care that all they do is…"

Steve replied, "As I said, it's fame and money for them first."

"Rather a sad existence, that."

"I doubt they mind."

With a sharp sigh, Diana said, "They should."

=w=

Meanwhile, on the Hellas Planitia, Ares stood atop a massive cliff, looking down upon his legions of loyal troops; men and demons alike. They stood in their neat rows and columns, ready with their weapons – swords and spears and shields all glistened red, not with blood but with iron. For now.

Ares raised his hand. "Sta ópla! To arms!"

A thunderous roar rang out. _"Sta ópla!"_

With great tread and deliberation, Ares began his speech.

"My friends, our time has come! We stand on the cusp of our greatest victory yet! This time tomorrow, we shall destroy the hated Amazons!"

A cheer.

"But the greatest irony is that we shall have to do naught; their own foolish nobility and ideals shall do that for us! The fools have far underestimated Man's capability for hatred, and their incredible new weapons of war!"

A greater cheer, with babble about Man's new technology.

"Yes, it seems in our absence their science has granted them incredible inventions; means of travelling the world in a matter of days, instant communication between continents, but far more importantly…new chemicals to poison themselves with, bombs that can destroy whole cities, and weapons that can kill a man from a whole stadion away!"

The army exploded into discussion and curiosity, only to be stilled by Ares's raised hand.

"Yes, yes, you can all play with them with very soon. Very soon…but first, my dear daughters have gone forth to lure their so-called 'champion' out. Then, when the time is right, we shall strike! Death to the Amazons! To arms!"

Ares's legions raised their weapons, cheering again and again. He turned around to Phobos and Deimos, who had been standing aside him through the whole speech.

"Once I give the signal, open the portal. We shall strike in the city the Amazon princess has decided to call home."

"Aye, master."

Ares paused, staring Phobos in the eye. He then raised his hand, using his fingers to hold up his son's chin. "Come now, Phobos, no need to be glum. Today shall be a glorious day!"

Phobos's mouth spread into a forced smile. Ares dropped his hand, and marched to his private chambers, his boisterous laughter nigh echoing through the entire crater. Phobos and Deimos merely looked at one another, then at the back of their father and lord.

=w=

Diana and Steve were waiting for their food at a fast food restaurant, decorated in patriotic colours and featuring a cartoon eagle as its mascot. When their waitress, dressed in a short top and a pair of Daisy Dukes handed them their orders, Diana took a long look at her, then at her rather more covered male co-worker.

Steve's eyes followed hers. "You're not going to start again, are you?"

"No, I'm simply…curious."

"Well, there's a lot to learn about the world, and you're only about 48 hours in. Heck, people don't quite understand it when they're 48 years old. Now, why don't you try and figure out our food?"

Turning back to Steve, Diana said, "A wise man once said, 'knowledge is the food of the soul'. Maybe it works the other way."

With that, she opened up her paper box, revealing a chicken drumstick and a number of small, yellow sticks. Some of them looked stiff, others rather limp. Holding one of them up, she asked, "What are these, pray tell?"

A bite of hot dog caught in his cheeks, Steve mumbled back, "They're called French fries."

"What're they made of?" she said, still looking sceptically at it.

Swallowing his bite, he replied, "Potatoes…or at least they're supposed to be."

"What're those?"

"Oh, right! You've never seen one before…they're like, uhh…a kind of root…I think. Just try it."

She bit into the fry and then swallowed it whole, and started to choke. "_Ack!_ It's salty!"

"Take the drink, then. It's Cola."

She sipped it, then suddenly sat bolt upright. Her eyes even seemed to narrow a bit as she stared astounded at the paper cup.

"Incredible! What goes into it?"

"Caffeine and lots of sugar. Guess that's another thing you haven't heard of before."

As she took another sip, the two slowly became aware of a deep rumbling from the streets beyond. Sirens began to blare everywhere, and a police helicopter thundered past. A fire began to blaze from the same source. Out from the flames stepped forth Kyriefsi, attired in the same garb as the night before, now wielding a cruel battleaxe in one hand, and a curved dagger in the other. The blood of innocents stained her weapons – and her fangs.

A police van stopped right before the figure – only to be curtly thrown aside. It, too, exploded, adding to the flames. Raising her head to challenge the skies, Kyriefsi bellowed:

"WHEEERREE IS SHE?! Let the coward Diana, so-called 'Wonder Woman' show her face! Else a hundred more innocents shall face my blades!"

Diana looked for a moment, then down at the haversack that Steve had brought. She turned to him, taking a talisman from it.

"Here, take this."

Steve examined the pendant. "What is it?"

"It was a charm that I took. Ares appears to have made his move. The enchantment upon it might confer some protection from his evil."

Steve pocketed it. When he looked up, Diana was gone, dashing through the streets of Columbia City, tearing off her faux-leather boots and donning her mystical winged slippers.

The next, Wonder Woman, champion of the Amazons dressed in her full gear, sped through the skies at Mach 1 - directly at Conquest. The two collided with an incredible _KRA-THAAAMMMMM_, shattering all the windows of the nearby blocks. Overturned cars sounded their alarms into eternity, and stunned passers-by found themselves thrown to the ground.

Conquest's body dug a deep furrow in the concrete as Diana rammed into her with full force. Blow after superhuman blow smashed into Kyriefsi's face, but her demoniac constitution only meant she only felt the slightest pain from it. She caught Diana's fist and proceeded to throw her into the nearest store.

A piano sounded its discordant last chord as Wonder Woman fell through it, and then some guitars. An antique violin, loosened from its rack, dropped onto her forehead, breaking in two as it struck the ground after that. Diana had been confused before by Conquest's presence. Now she was just angry.

With a warrior's cry on her lips, she rallied, throwing her tiara like a blade. Its sharp edge cut a jagged line across one of Conquest's eyes. Green blood trickled from her ruined eyelid down to her fangs, where her forked tongue licked it up appreciatively.

From the dust thrown up from her forced entry into the music shop, Diana emerged, swinging her lasso. The passers-by who had managed to recover caught their first clear glimpse at the Amazonian wonder. One of them caught a photo just quickly enough – it was an image of a champion, wielding no weapon bar a golden thread, calmly charging forth to protect innocents from a hellish enemy.

The loop of the lasso sailed through the air, encasing Conquest in the girdle of Gaea. The next moment, Diana took to the skies, pulling Kyriefsi along. Her trussed enemy could do naught but twist and shout – the lasso was unbreakable, and was too taut to prove escapable.

The two were soon above the bay of Columbia City, where merchantmen languidly bobbed and swayed in the waves. Lonely ships from foreign corners brought goods from each corner of the known world to America. A red lighthouse in the middle of the bay gave direction to them.

The seeming calm of the night sea was abruptly ended by Diana flinging Conquest into the bay right by the water's edge. A thunderous wave was thrown up by the impact, splashing up into the waterfront district, and rocking some of the merchant ships to and fro. The police cars that had been following the two were now accompanied by another set of vehicles – military police.

Troops with the badge of James Garfield Air Force Base on their sleeves, armed with Colt M1911A1s and XM177s filed out of the jeeps and trucks, nervously watching the turmoil under the water's surface. They were led by Staff Sergeant P. Nexia, a recent transfer. She was a short, staunchly built woman. Her eyes shone an unnatural black as she hungrily took in the scene.

The battling figures burst through the surface of the water, into the air again. When they landed, Diana and Conquest, both drenched, immediately resumed trading blows. As the troops and policemen alike raised their weapons to eye-level, a sudden, thick, fog began to erupt from the water's surface. For moments, nobody could see what was going on. Only sounds of violence were audible.

Conquest, now in the form of a bloodied and bruised MP, came crawling out of the fog, coughing up a broken tooth. His right hand was numbly gripping the mangled upper receiver group of his Colt Carbine. From the fog emerged Wonder Woman, her knuckles dripping with blood. Immediately, a dozen pistols and rifles were cocked and readied.

"Wait! I did not harm your-"

Pleonexia, goddess of greed, wasted no time. "OPEN FIRE!"

After a moment of hesitation, the MPs and police alike pulled on the triggers of their firearms, sending a hail of bullets flying towards Diana. She raised her arms to guard, deflecting the vast majority of them. Still, the sheer volume of projectiles was too much, and bullets began to graze her arms and face.

She then decided enough was enough. The lasso flew forth again, this time whipping the guns out of their hands. She took a few steps forward, before hearing a thunderous roar behind her. It was beyond belief. Legions of otherworldly soldiers, all armed to the teeth and accompanied with beasts and monsters of legends past, were erupting from the sea.

From high above, Lady Deception snapped her fingers behind her. Now, all the soldiers and policemen saw were Diana similarly transformed, marshalling her forces in an assault against the city. Some of the troops grabbed their weapons fast enough to squeeze off a few rounds. Most were swept up by the charging horde, with a few stragglers thrown to the side. Diana was hopelessly lost in the melee.

Kyriefsi and Pleonexia looked at each other understandingly. In the flicker of an eye, both had turned back to their classic forms, ready to command the troops of Ares. All was going precisely to plan.

=w=

Meanwhile, Steve was still trying to make head or tail of just what had happened, and had dashed to the scene of the first battle. Casualties were being carted into ambulances, and cleanup crews were trying to take debris away already. All down the street, there were overturned cars, broken windows, the works. The place looked like a war zone.

One store had a whole row of TVs in it, some big, some small, some plasma, some cathode-ray. The one thing they had in common was that they were all showing the same broadcast: A sudden newsbreak by the CC Gazette, showing a horde of…things…in ancient armour appearing by the waterfront. Caught in the middle was Diana herself!

Soon, the music video on the big billboard too, had switched over to the same newsflash.

"This is Timothy Trumbull reporting for the CC Gazette. As I speak, what can only be described as a 'demon horde from the depths of a Greek history textbook' appears to be emerging from Delaware Bay. It has made a foothold in the Bowers area and appears to be heading north. They appear to be led by this woman…"

A picture of Diana, not quite looking like herself, and wielding a sword towards the camera, as she sent 'her' troops forward replaced the previous picture. The rest of the report passed by Steve. Something was wrong. Somehow, he needed to get the truth out. However, that was not to be.

"Capt. Steve Trevor, USAF?"

Steve wheeled around to respond to this unfamiliar voice – and found himself staring right down the barrel of a Beretta M9. On the other end was a shades-wearing MP from the air base.

"…Yes?"

"You're under arrest. Special orders from Genl. Darnell."

Before he could protest, handcuffs locked themselves around his wrists and he was being carted into the back seat of an Air Force car. Things weren't going well at all.

=w=

Ares's horde slowly made their way through the city. Some of the luckier ones fondly cradled their new weapons of war as they carelessly shot through the streets of the Bowers district. Deep in their midst, Diana struggled against the giant arms of a Cyclops pinning her to his own chest. Upon his shoulders were Conquest, Deception and Greed, now all in their full attire, surveying the chaos before them. Conquest leaned close to Diana's ear, whispering coarsely.

"_Deíte ti échete sfyrí̱lato? To athánato legeónes tou Ári tha ekkatharísete ton kósmo tis eirínis … óla exaitías sou!_ See what you have wrought? The deathless legions of Ares shall purge the world of peace…all thanks to you!"

"_Giatí gia ména_? Because of me?"

"_O, nai. Anóito sas antilípseis tis 'eirínis' kai 'adelfótita', prépei óla na sárose safís. To mínyma ton Amazónon tha akoúsei poté!_ Oh, yes. Your foolish notions of 'peace' and 'sisterhood' shall all be swept clear. The message of the Amazons will never find voice!

Diana defiantly spat, "_Óchi! Den tha kerdísei! Áris den tha petýchei!_ No! You won't win! Ares will not succeed!"

With that, and an almighty burst of strength, Diana tore free of the Cyclops' grasp, giving it a swift kick in the eye for good measure. Ares's three lieutenants took to the skies as the giant stumbled and staggered. Deception turned to Conquest, a sly look in her eye.

"_Den échei syneiditopoiísei óti paízei sta chéria mas , den eínai?_ She doesn't realise she's playing into our hands, does she?"

Apati turned back. "_Fysiká kai óchi_. Of course not."

With the swift flapping of bat-like wings, Apati turned to Diana's direction, treading the air currents in hot pursuit.

=w=

Steve Trevor was curtly thrown into the holding cell, the heavy bars of the jail closing with a thunderous clanging. He slowly picked himself up off the floor – no easy feat, considering his cuffed hands – and took a seat on the bed hanging from the side of the wall. Soon, footsteps began echoing from down the hall.

General Phil Darnell appeared, dressed in the standard Battle Dress Uniform with a turtleneck. He extracted a pipe from his mouth as he turned to Steve.

"So, Trevor. Never thought a good kid like you would be caught in this mess. That woman you brought with you was nothing but trouble."

Steve tried to stand. "General! You gotta believe me! She's not responsible for…"

Darnell snapped, "QUIET, Trevor! No later than 48 hours after she turns up, she's seen leading some monster horde and you've got the gall to say she's got nothing to do with it? She's going down, Trevor, and once the National Guard gets here, your little farce will be over."

With that, the conversation was at an end. Darnell walked off, drawing on his pipe. Steve looked down at his cuffs, and at the drab corridor beyond. Then, he saw the nametag he'd forgotten to remove from his shirt…and the safety pin attached to it.

After a quick look around, he adjusted his angle so all the security camera saw was his back, and got to work.

=w=

In the meantime, the small numbers of Air Force MPs were aiding the local police in setting up barricades throughout the city. Several Avengers armed with Javelins and Stingers, dusted off and returned to operational capability, were rolling into the streets. Civilians everywhere were being escorted into bomb shelters, with only a few news trucks behind the barrier.

Then, up in the sky, a dot appeared. It took the form of a person, and the OIC of the ground forces, Lieutenant Hendricks, pulled out his binoculars to take a look. It was the same woman he'd been briefed about. He turned to the troops around him.

"Load and ready. Full auto."

Suddenly, a voice boomed out. "Wait!"

It echoed throughout the streets, silencing what little bustle there had been in the first place.

"Let me speak."

The lieutenant raised his hand, and the MPs half-lowered their weapons.

"I am not the one responsible for this invasion. Please, let me stand by your side."

The lasso that hung from her hands not only translated her every word, but did so with the ring of truth. Soon, all the doubt and fear in the men's hearts melted away, and their guns no longer pointed dead ahead.

However, that moment was short-lived, as Apati turned into a wisp, flittering past and into all of their eyes and ears, making them see what she wanted them to see – Diana in the form of Kyriefsi. Within moments, through their senses, they could only see a monstrous amazon, wielding a bloody sword, and about to charge.

"FOOOLLLSS!", rang out a mighty roar which passed through no being's lips yet filled the ears of all present.

A moment's hesitation ended the calm before the storm. A hail of bullets and missiles flew towards Diana. Fast as she was, she could not avoid them all. Her body struck the ground, nearly knocking her unconscious. Bleary eyes barely stayed open long enough to see on one side, Ares's armies making their first steps into the city's streets, and on the other, the desperate faces of soldiers who had no idea what they were up against.

=w=

The guard paced down the corridor, peeking into the holding cells. All were supposed to be empty – save one. Captain Steve Trevor had been caught in cahoots with that crazy warrior princess, and he was going to be held here until…well, whenever. Prowling duty was a chore, but someone had to do it, he supposed.

He turned the corner – to see an empty cell. Glancing around to make sure Trevor wasn't trying anything funny, he took a peek inside. Then, waving the business end of his XM177 inside, he made his first and last mistake – sticking his head in between the bars.

With a yell, Steve dropped from his alcove at the ceiling, grabbing the guard's head in the crook of his elbow.

"Sorry, bud," he muttered as he squeezed the breath out of the guard. Moments later, the guard's head gently struck the floor, out cold.

Steve tried to reach the other fellow's pockets from in the cell, but had no luck. Guards didn't carry the keys with them. Instead, he gingerly grabbed for the carbine, and then headed over to the cell door. He'd managed to get some of the tumblers in the lock moving just now, but there was no time for subtlety now.

With a WHTUNK, the butt-stock of the XM177 smashed against the lock of the door. Nothing gave. Another WHTUNK and it bent a little. Steve carried on, praying to himself that nobody else was coming down the corridor. Five or six hits later, the bolt finally came loose. Steve scrambled over to the downed guard, then lifted a loaded magazine from its pouch.

After testing the rifle (just in case all that pistol-whipping had damaged it), he loaded the magazine in and flicked the safety on. He had to stop whatever Col. Darnell was planning. God help whoever got in his way.

=w=

Diana found herself alone; the raging battle had shifted elsewhere. Violence was erupting closer and closer to the city centre, leaving death and destruction in its wake. She stumbled among the bodies of the wounded and the dead, putting the injured at ease and giving solace to those beyond her ability.

She turned back to the thunderous sounds. This was not a fight she could handle; not alone, at the least. She took to the skies, beyond the gleaming towers of Man's world, beyond the clouds, nigh to the stars.

She summoned a mighty breath, then bellowed to the heavens. "HERMES! Listen to your child from the earth below! Hear her prayer!"

A thunderclap sounded from the skies, then followed by the cries of a host of eagles. They surrounded her, flying in circles about her form. A lone bird, with a mighty crest, landed on her shoulder.

She whispered, "Thank you."

The eagle turned attentively to her, ready to pick up her every word.

"Go to my mother. Tell her the forces of Ares have attacked Man's world. We must help them."

The bird nodded twice, then, along with the rest of its cohort, flew towards Themyscira. Diana looked back down at the fires raging in the city. The lives of innocents were at stake. She could not turn a deaf ear. Not while she still lived.

=w=

Johnny Griggs was on his usual rounds, pacing down the corridor down to cell blocks. His radio buzzed away with messages from Mission Control, calling for Bud Bailey. Guy probably was just stuck in the toilet. On the other hand, they'd been trying to message him for the past quarter of an hour…

Just before Johnny Griggs turned the corner, he sensed something was up. When he felt the pressure linger near the temple of his head, his hand went straight for the magazine release. It was a hair away from the button before when he heard a hoarse whisper.

"Don't."

He whipped his head around – and found himself staring straight down the business end of a XM177.

"Please."

Captain Steve Trevor, hotshot pilot, was at the other end of the gun.

Griggs blurted, "Trevor?!"

"Yeah. Hi, Griggs. Sorry we had to meet again like this."

"The hell are you doing?"

"You have to believe me."

"About what?"

"The General's up to something. I have to stop him, Griggs. Here and now."

Trevor slowly lowered the gun. The two men looked at each other.

"Please."

Griggs stopped to think. All his years at JG Base, Capt. Steve Trevor had been nothing but a good fellow. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was genuine. And it was true that the old man had been acting weird recently…

"All right. But make it look good," said Johnny Griggs, letting his gun arm hang to one side.

"Sure thing, pal."

Steve gave Griggs a decent hit in the stomach, followed by a blow to the back of the head. A kick to the jaw cemented the deal.

The radio crackled, calling for a status update. Steve pulled the receiver over, turning to Johnny Griggs.

"If you don't mind…"

"Sure thing, pal," muttered Johnny, before he spoke into the receiver. "Green 6 to Mission Control. All fine here. Think Bud Bailey's stuck in the WC. Over."

_"Roger that. Out."_

Steve leaned over. "Loaded mag?"

Johnny dug the STANAG magazine, loaded with five rounds in it, out of his pocket and slid it over. "Here you go, dude."

"Thanks again."

That was all Steve had left to say; swift but silent steps took him down the hallway, to where he next had to go.

=w=

Meanwhile, on Paradise Island, Hippolyta and the other Amazons were going about their daily routine. Many of the wounded were back on their feet, ready to train and learn again. The Amazon queen stood alone on a cliff top, gazing to the horizon. For days now, terns and gulls had been going to and fro, giving morsels of news from Man's world.

The news had been uneven, so far. Her daughter had had ill luck in talking to the authorities, and was still too close to that man, Steve Trevor, for her liking. She patiently waited for the next despatch.

When it came not in the form of gulls and terns, but with a massive flock of eagles, she knew that it could not be better. There had to be twenty to thirty of them, and they spread all over the city. The last of the pack came to rest on her shoulder, and began to speak into her ear.

The message was dire. The armies of Ares were at hand, striking at the city that Diana had chosen residence in. It had been the duty of the Amazons to protect the world from Ares's evil. They had failed once before. Not again.

Hippolyta stared down at the city square. The eagles were everywhere; all activity had stopped in a moment of stupor. Having delivered their message, they left as swiftly as they came. Among the assembled, only Nathifa broke from her spell, dashing up the hill to her queen.

"My queen! Did you hear…?"

"Yes, I have."

Nathifa paused. "What would you have us do?"

"We go to war. Ares' evil must be stopped here. Now."

"Aye, my queen."

With that, both women rushed to their people, readying them for the battle ahead. For the second time in days, armour and arms were drawn from their stores, and now hundreds of winged horses were driven from their stables. Little did the Amazons know that even by this reaction that they were playing directly into the hands of Ares.

=w=

Wonder Woman wasted no time once she had passed her message. Battered and bruised, she dived straight back down into the city, into thick battle. Even if the men of the world could not see the truth of the matter, that was no cause not to aid them in their hour of need.

From her view in the skies, she could see a convoy of military trucks, including one with a long barrel sticking out of the front, approaching the city. The troops inside were all armed with what seemed like the same kind of gun that the others were using.

Then, a dozen harpies broke off from the main battle group, and charged towards the convoy. The soldiers in the trucks raised their weapons, but the harpies were too fast for them; some fell to the bullets, but the others easily snatched the rifles from the men, turning them on their former users in an instant.

Before they could pull off their first salvo, though, Wonder Woman ploughed into the harpies, tearing the weapons out of their hands and dropping them back into the hands of the soldiers. She turned to them with a yell.

"Help me out here!"

With that, she dove to one side, leaving the harpies right in the troops' arc of fire. One solid burst of gunfire later, it was over. She paused for a moment before the troopers.

"What are you waiting for? The city is still besieged!"

She darted down the road, right into the raging centre of the fight. Moments later, the whole convoy charged down the same path, ready to take on what lay in wait.

=w=

High in the skies, Nathifa marshalled the Amazon forces on their winged steeds, the taste of anticipation and desperation mixing in their throats…

=w=

Hallways away from where Steve Trevor was skulking in the shadows, a sudden, enormous, blip appeared on the long-range radar…

=w=

Mortals and monsters clashed in the streets of the city, the former uncomprehending of the latter, which cared naught as they wrought havoc…

=w=

Caught in the middle of this was the will of one woman, in whose hands the fate of the whole day, maybe that of the whole future lay…


	6. Book 1, Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE: REQUIEM FOR THE WAR-MONGER

Deep inside James Garfield Air Force Base, blips emerged on the fringes of the radar screens. Hundreds of them; small ones, though. The suddenly-awakened techno sprung to his feet and got to the intercom.

"Radar Station to General's Quarters. Message over."

The voice on the other side came through, garbled by the transmission.

_"Message send, over."_

"We've got, oh…a hundred or so bogies on our radar screen?…Over."

General Darnell spluttered. _"The hell?! Missiles?"_

"No, sir. Too small."

_"Drones?"_

"Too small. Over."

_"All right, I'll scramble a UAV. I want to know what's coming for us. I'll be at the C&C Centre ASAP. Out."_

"Aye-aye, sir."

=w=

As Steve slowly made his way to the Command & Control Centre, he heard a distant roar. Spying through a window, he saw it; a Predator drone, being prepped for launch. He idly wondered what it was all about, when another sound began to echo down the hall – footsteps.

He ducked into an alcove, pressing himself against the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw General Darnell quickly pacing down the hall – straight to the C&C Centre. Now he knew something was up. Gripping the Colt carbine closer to himself, he ducked into the next alcove, keeping Darnell in his sight throughout.

=w=

The battle had gone out of control. Reserves from the National Guard were all streaming in too slowly to stem the tide, and tower blocks began to burst into fire. Flying creatures and enormous cyclopes made a mockery of the ground-level defences, and emergency teams couldn't get to where they were needed.

Wonder Woman swept in, delivering a thunderous blow to a giant's eye. It stumbled, and started swaying. Another blow, this time to its solar plexus, sealed the deal. It began to fall. Panicked men and beasts alike scrambled out of its shadow.

The Lasso shot out, wrapping itself around the cyclops' shoulder. Slowly, gently, Diana let it drop to the ground. Her kindness was not appreciated, though – an arrow much like the one Steve's plane had launched burst through the air. She had barely turned to face it, when all exploded in front of her face.

Next she felt, the ground slammed into her back. She looked up to a see a man in modern-looking armour, wearing a helmet much like Steve's, wielding a long, cruel, baton. In a single motion, he took the helm off, discarding it by the side. Underneath was a familiar face.

It was a handsome face, framed by golden hair in a square-cut mane. It was marred only by the look of total hate in his eyes and his mouth, twisted into neither a smile nor a sneer.

Diana drew a breath of shock. "Ares!"

"Yes, princess of the Amazons. Surprised?"

She got to her feet and threw a punch at the god. "You dare?!"

He caught it with effortless ease, and flicked her over to a nearby wall, creating a decent-sized dent in it. As she fell to the ground again, he advanced on her.

"You ask that, when you yourself come to the land of the mortals with such opprobrium? How blind are you, princess?"

Ares grabbed Diana by her hair, pulling her up. Her feet dangled inches off the ground.

"Nonetheless, I have you to thank. Man had forgotten about us. Your foolishness will mark my grand return. Every blow struck in anger, every man that falls today – all only serve to strengthen me. The name of Ares shall echo through every continent – including this new one. Furthermore, your sisters shall all fall this very day – and I won't even have to lift a finger."

Diana's eyes widened. "What?"

"Oh, yes, daughter of Hippolyta. The armies of man's world have better weapons than catapults and ballistae, I'm afraid. Your sisters merely charge to their doom."

She wrested herself free, and threw her lasso at Ares. He dodged it nimbly, then grabbed the free end. Both considered the other as the thread grew taut between them.

Diana stammered, "But they come in peace…"

"Not in the eyes of the men of this city. The sweetest part is that the one who has ensured their doom is you."

Through gritted teeth, Wonder Woman spat, "Not if I stop you first."

"Even if you could, imagine the scene. A lone guardian of peace, doing desperate battle with the woman responsible for all this. Who will the mortals side with?"

"I don't know how you did it, god of lies, but your lieutenants have clouded their minds."

"Perhaps."

The two locked stares, both gripping the lasso of truth with all their might, unwilling to budge the slightest inch. It was Ares who spoke.

"As fun as this has been, Amazon, I am needed elsewhere. See you in Tartarus."

With that, and a thick cloud of smoke, the god of war vanished into the wind. When the smog scattered, Diana found herself alone on the battlefield, caught between both sides of the unequal war.

=w=

The giant landmass of America slowly came into view. Nathifa, leading the Amazon forces, signalled to the commanders to begin descent. As they did so, they began to hear a thunderous rumble in the sky. There was a small dot coming from the continent.

It soon became clear that it was much like the form of the same transport that had brought Steve Trevor to Themyscira, except smaller. The air rippled around it as it came closer. The Amazons parted ranks as it rushed through them.

The sound faded, but then grew louder and louder again. Far to the west, the same small 'plane' passed by the Amazons, back towards the same spot where it had come from, seemingly having achieved what it wanted. Unfazed, the Amazons pushed on.

=w=

Pictures of the Amazons on their winged horses soon began to appear on every screen of the command centre. Phil Darnell stood in the middle of it all, sipping on his coffee. The sight gave him pause.

"My god."

The technician looked up from his console. "Sir?"

Still in a daze, General Darnell muttered, "One wasn't enough. Dozens, hundreds of them. They're just the second wave. Can we trace where they came from?"

"We can calculate their trajectory, sir…"

"Good. Scramble a couple of jets. I want those damn rejects from _Clash of the Titans _out of the sky. Next we bomb their home base."

The technician paused for a moment. "Are you sure, sir?"

"Get the signal out. Scramble two fighters. Get the UB-12s ready too."

"I don't think so."

Both men turned to the door, to the third voice. There, Steve Trevor stood with his rifle raised to his eyes, thumb next to the safety catch on the XM177. The technician shifted nervously in his chair. Darnell simply stared Steve down.

"Trevor," he spat.

Steve said, "I can't let you do this, general."

"I should've known the two of you were in league, Trevor. She leads Invasion U.S.A. and you still side with her? What'd she promise you, _traitor_? Money? Asylum? Hers-"

The safety catch flipped to 'fire', and a burst of rounds destroyed the terminal behind General Darnell.

"She's not here to destroy us, sir. She's on our side."

Darnell stepped forward. "What evidence have you got, Trevor? This horde comes at our heels the day after she turns up, and she's got more on the way! We need to wipe them out before they do!"

"That's the sort of thinking that their enemies thrive on. We need to trust them. Please, sir. Don't do this."

The two men considered each other. Long moments passed as each examined the other, looking for a reaction. The XM177 remained where it was, but Steve's shoulders were slowly starting to ache. Darnell simply locked his gaze, waiting for that one moment of weakness.

Suddenly, a hot, strong wind seemed to blow from each corner of the room – towards General Darnell. Smoke began to circle around his body. The general closed his eyes – when next they opened, they were glowing as red as embers. He spoke with a voice not his own.

"Fool."

He stretched out one hand, and suddenly Steve felt his rifle get warmer and warmer. He gripped the hand-guard ever tighter, adamant not to let go. It was like trying to keep one's hand on a stove. It was almost red-hot when he finally threw it to one side, sending it clattering against the wall. Steve wordlessly held his scalded hands in front of his eyes.

Steve saw Darnell charge him moments too late. A hellishly powerful blow to his belly took all the breath out of him. Steve struggled to get up. He could catch something in his blurred vision – Darnell snapped his fingers, and the technician at the console was consumed by fire and smoke.

One of Ares's foot soldiers emerged. The god of war, in Darnell's body, turned to him.

"You. Use the drone. Leave no Amazon alive. I shall deal with the mortal first."

"It shall be done, my lord. _Sta ópla_! To arms!"

"_Sta ópla._" Ares returned the greeting with a nod, then turned to Steve. "As for you-"

Steve used the best of his experience in football, launching himself at Darnell shoulder first. The general stumbled back, more out of surprise than by the actual force of the blow. Behind them, screens burst to life, letting all see the skies through the eyes of the Predator. Technical specifications filled the other screens.

Ares grabbed Steve by the neck, pushing him back.

"Mortal fool! You dare to challenge a god?! You _DARE_?"

Steve said, forcing the words out of his trachea, "Whatever…it…takes."

Darnell's lips parted to form a twisted smile. "Poor deluded fool. I have a passing familiarity with your sacred texts. It was Man who destroyed Paradise, not the serpent. He took the fruit of forbidden knowledge and dared to share that which belonged to the gods. You breached Paradise. Now it-and you-shall pay."

Steve tried to return the same kick that Ares had dealt him first. Nothing happened. Unvoiced screams of defiance choked at his throat, unable to let loose. Steve's hand flailed around his neck. Suddenly, they caught on something.

A limp hand held the talisman in front of him. Both combatants stared at it. Steve realised where it'd come from; Diana had given to him as a safeguard. Ares looked on, wild-eyed. The amulet took on an unnatural glow – one that filled the room. Pressure began to mount between the two.

The world exploded. When the light faded, three bodies were on the ground. Steve started to get up. His bruises had faded; his throat felt fine. Darnell rose and faced him. The technician slowly reached for the chair.

Steve took a step forward. To his surprise, Darnell stumbled back. Desperately, Ares launched an attack. Steve caught the fist, and threw Darnell to the ground. The red lights of his eyes started to flicker.

"Trevor…?"

Darnell's head lolled to one side, as he fell unconscious. The technician stood up and turned to face Steve, his voice booming in the same tone as Ares.

"You're too late, mortal! Behold!"

Behind him, monitors showed the Amazonian army, barely half an hour from America's shores now. Reticules began dotting the screen like a bad pox on someone's skin. They turned from bright green to a garish red. The Predator was engaging its targeting system. Any moment now, and a Gatling gun would spit death at them.

=w=

Nathifa saw the rider-less plane come again. This time its intent seemed sterner. She raised her hand, and the warriors behind her readied their weapons. No sooner had they done so, when the drone opened fire.

Amazons around her fell like flies around a deathly flame. A rain of blood made the tiniest impact in the Atlantic ocean. The drone had passed them already. So this is what it had come to. Man could see no other recourse but violence. So be it. If they could only communicate in such terms, then the Amazons would only respond as such.

=w=

A solid punch to the jaw floored the technician. It was too late. The cannon had already fired. Steve scrambled to the controls, trying his best to mess with everything that he could. Would it be enough?

=w=

Nathifa pointed her spear forward, and they charged the retreating drone. However, something unexpected occurred. Before even the first bolt was loosed, the plane dived. It spun and twisted in mid-air, until it eventually started a headlong fall into the wine-dark sea.

Had it run out of energy? It mattered little. Ordering some of the rearguard to pick up the fallen, Nathifa spurred her comrades on, towards the city besieged by the legions of Ares.

=w=

Diana flew left and right through the madness of the city, attempting to find the source of the delusion spreading through it. Then, she sensed something behind her. She spun around – to see Conquest leaping through a ruined window. The beast wrapped her arms around her, sending the two of them into a spin-dive. Buildings spun past each other and the streets below until both smashed into the tarmac.

Diana crawled out of the crater, but found herself forced to the ground by Conquest's foot on her back. A cruel hand pulled her head up, to the horizon. It was turning sunset red. A small group of does were just about coming over.

They were growing larger and larger. Then she recognised them for what they were. Slowly, painfully, she turned her neck to stare Conquest in the eye.

"It's over, demon. My sisters are coming, and your war will end."

"Look again, Amazon."

Conquest passed her hand over Diana's eyes. The triumphant sight suddenly shifted to a demoniac horde. She finally saw the illusion Ares's minions had been casting over the entire city; within moments, grinning scions of Tartarus had replaced her sisters, their proud steeds turned into fire-breathing monsters.

"The denizens of this _polis_ will share your sight…and react accordingly. Say your farewells, Amazon. This shall be the last you see of them…twisted into an image of _Ares's_ choosing."

Her eyes widened. This, then, was the culmination of all of Ares's plotting; the Amazons, dead in a foreign land, their mission lost. Then what next? Would they follow the stragglers back to Paradise Island? What then?

"No," she whispered.

Conquest leaned in. "What was that, Amazon?"

"I-said-NO!"

With a titanic effort, she grabbed the cruel heel forcing her to the ground and threw it aside, propping herself up with the other hand. The two foes faced each other. Conquest forced a snarl through her mirthless grin. Diana returned it with a determined stare.

Conquest charged again – into thin air, as Diana pivoted on her heel at the last possible moment, letting the lasso whip around her opponent. Her legs bound, Conquest fell face-first to the ground. Now their positions reversed, Diana leaned in to her enemy's face, gripping the lasso with her free hand.

"Where is she? The one casting the illusions?"

Conquest spat a gob of green blood. "I'll never tell."

Diana tightened her hold on the lasso, till her knuckles blanched white. "Answer me."

Conquest bit her lip with her fangs in a supreme effort not to speak, but eventually, the truth was prised from her lips. Leaving her opponent trussed up with a steel girder, Diana headed to the tallest building in the city – the cathedral. It would be there that she would find Deception, the pawn of Ares responsible for all this.

=w=

The shadow of the new challengers spread through the city. Everywhere, soldiers and policemen turned their heads to see a horrendous sight. A new wave of demons had arrived. Faced with the end times, what could any of them do? The officers and commanders who gained their senses barked orders to raise their weapons.

Nathifa stared down at the sight of the mortals preparing their weapons. What madness was this? They had come to protect them, and they respond with violence? She raised her hand in an open palm, instructing her sisters to stay their distance.

Far below them, Lt. Hendricks too raised his hand. What were they waiting for? If they were the next wave of their enemies, what was stopping them from killing them all? Why wait? To taunt them before their final moments? Something wasn't right.

=w=

There, atop the holiest of structures the mortals of this city had built with their hands, was Deception, otherwise known as Apati, deity of falsehoods and illusion. Her face was obscured by a grotesque mask, but that same pair of pitch-black eyes stared forth from them.

Her hands glowed with unearthly power, which she shot into the packets of mortals far below her, confusing their minds and blurring their senses. As Diana approached, she turned her hateful gaze on her.

"Ah…the so-called 'Wonder Woman'. We have met before."

Diana landed on the roof opposite her. "Apati. Your deceptions have fooled enough people for too long."

"Not long enough, Amazonian Princess. The men of this city will soon gun down your sisters in waves, and follow them back to Themyscira, all to destroy the demons they think they are."

"It ends now."

"You will try."

Without another word, Diana closed in on Deception. But something was wrong. Every step she seemed to take only drew her further from her quarry. The world slowly rotated on some massive axis, till the sky became the sea and the sea the land. Locked in gaze with Deception, she saw the logic of the world crumble into chaos.

Then, she recalled her gift from Gaia. It would brook no illusions or falsehoods. Wrapping it around her bracers, she pressed on. Bit by bit, the deception fell apart, and she was now mere steps from Deception. She tore off the mocking mask and cast it away – to see her mother's face underneath. No – now it was Orana's. A moment later, it turned into Steve's.

She focused. Deception was only trying to confuse her. Not fooled by her eyes, she wrapped her foeman in the lasso, gripping her by the throat.

Diana ordered Deception. "Release them. Release the hold you have on the mortals. Gaia compels you."

"Never!"

"You must. The truth will out."

The lasso glowed, illuminating Deception, who then began to shine, too. It was a brilliant but not blinding light. Its warmth grew and grew until it spread to every corner of the city. Diana slowly blinked. It was a new dawn. Deception struggled against her bonds to no use. Her spells and illusions were over.

=w=

A warm golden light bathed the streets below, and in the twinkling of an eye, the true nature of the Amazons was revealed – a troop of proud warriors on winged steeds, and not in the least bit demonic. Nathifa descended to talk to the leader of the ground forces on their city block.

"We have come in peace. Let us vanquish our common foe together."

Lieutenant Hendricks gestured down the road. "You and I both, ma'am."

With renewed vigor, the soldiers turned to the demons – the real ones, the dogs of War. The Amazon reinforcements were just enough to turn the tide. Everywhere, from the waterfront to the suburbs to the towering office spires, mounted Amazons pushed Ares's forces back.

Wonder Woman descended from the roof of the cathedral, and pulled up aside Nathifa.

"_Kalimera_, consul."

"_Kalimera_, your highness. I see we've come in time."

She looked ahead at the demoniac horde, which was beginning to break its ranks. "Indeed. Shall we?"

"I thought you would never ask, your highness."

Together, along with the mortals, the Amazons charged through the Ares's forces. The blessed weapons of the Amazons cut swathes through their foes, and even the Cyclopes could not withstand their aerial assault. The half-men, half-bulls that had led the charge before were restrained like so many cattle.

What had started as a slow retreat became a panicked escape, and before long, Ares's legions were scrambling over themselves to flee through the portals leading back to their staging ground on the Hellas Planitia.

On the sight of their enemies fleeing, Amazons and men alike cheered together. Nathifa pulled Diana to one side, as the Amazons mingled with the joyous troops of the National Guard.

"Our time here is brief, your highness. We have defied destiny itself to save Mankind from Ares. Go to them, Diana. A great deed has begun today, thanks to you."

Diana looked at the sight before her. Men and women, Amazons and mortals were celebrating their victory together. That alone was a disproof of Ares's bluster. Her sisters had already done so much. The rest would now be up to her. She turned back to Nathifa.

"I…understand. Thank you again, Nathifa. This is twice now I owe you my life."

"Thank me not, Diana. Thank your mother, the queen, for assembling the troops and thank Lord Hermes for swiftly carrying your appeal."

"I will pray tonight. Convey my regards to Mother."

"I will. Farewell, your Highness."

With a final embrace, the two parted ways. Nathifa called the Amazons to her, and they flew off to the horizon and the setting sun, the soldiers fondly waving after them, and then turning to chatter with each other, some still trying to convince themselves of what they'd just been through.

Lieutenant Hendricks walked up to Diana, the last Amazon remaining. He affected a salute, which she returned by crossing her bracelets. Both were unsure on how to begin, but the officer spoke up first.

"Evening, ma'am. Name's First Lieutenant Cyril Hendricks, 2IC of C Company, of the 105th in the Delaware National Guard. Way I understand it; you're responsible for getting our fat out of a whole lotta fire."

"I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira. I came to prevent Ares's plot to destroy your city, but my sisters finished the task."

Hendricks gestured to his men. "Well, we right in the 105th are all mighty grateful for you, ma'am. Based on the news, I can see you've been mighty maligned. We need to report back to HHQ anyway…so I guess what I'm saying is…can we offer you a lift?"

"A lift?"

"'Less you want to walk back to the city."

With that, Diana found herself in the passenger seat of an Army jeep, heading back to the city that she called her new home. When she arrived, the press was waiting for her and the men of the National Guard. Lt. Hendricks barely had time to give an official statement before he was pushed aside and the cameras and microphones shoved in Wonder Woman's face.

"So, 'Wonder Woman'-"

"Just who are-"

"Are you really here to 'bring peace to'-"

"-were all those women warriors your sisters-"

Finally, Diana stuck out her hand, and bellowed, "ENOUGH!"

Silence pervaded.

Then she spoke, calmly and clearly. "I am Diana of Paradise Island - a land where the Gods still reign, and where we Amazons practice love and peace. My sisters call me 'Wonder Woman'. I have been sent by the gods to put right what is wrong with the world. Ares, the God of War, tried to destroy you – and us - with his legions freed from the depths of Tartarus, and tried to induce war between the two worlds. We have managed to stop them today, but I will not stop till we achieve peace forever."

Before the reporters could get another question out, she had headed to the skies, leaving them to turn back to their cameras to make sense of what she had just said.

=w=

Far above the war-stricken streets, in a luxury penthouse suite, businesswoman Priscilla Rich watched the latest news reports of the battle that had raged in Columbia City, and of the angel that had delivered them from the legions of Hell.

Her hand went straight to her cutting-edge handphone. With a few deft strokes of her perfectly manicured fingernails, she'd gotten in contact with her PR department.

"Lil Brown? Do find out just who this Wonder Woman is. Tell her that I've got a proposition for her…"

=w=

In another corner of the city, at the Holliday Women's Shelter, staff and volunteers were working to set right the damage that those guys from another dimension had wrecked. It wasn't easy; they'd really done a number on the entrance hall.

The volunteers had managed to get the television working again, and there was nothing but coverage of this 'Wonder Woman'. Apparently she'd led the charge to take out those invaders. She, like them, dressed like something out of a Harryhausen movie.

Their chairman pushed aside a load of cracked drywall then stopped in front of the screen for a while. One of the staff interrupted her thoughts.

"Why, Etta? Seems you're glued to that report about our newest local heroine."

Etta Candy snapped back to reality. "Local heroine? Hel, this city sure needs one."

=w=

On the Hellas Planitia, Ares sat back on his throne, watching his injured and crippled legions limp back from the portals that he had opened to the mortal world. In front of him, bent in obeisance, were his three chief lieutenants, Greed, Conquest and Deception.

He spoke, rumbling thunder behind his voice. "So."

The three glanced up at him, unsure of how to reply.

Ares spoke again, more to himself than to them. "A pity, really, about that meddlesome girdle. Had it not been endowed with the power of truth…but oh well. There are always other days to war. Kyriefsi."

She looked up. "My lord."

"You will train until your skill exceeds that daughter of Hippolyta. She truly is the most skilled of the Amazons."

"Aye, my lord."

"Pleonexia. Apati."

They responded in unision. "My lord."

"Tend to the wounded. We will have need of them again. And do remember to drop my message off."

"My lord."

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the three of them. Not so far behind the throne room, in the narrow passages of Mars, were Phobos, Lord of Terror, and his brother, Deimos, the demoniac Dread, waiting for their audience with their lord and father. They spoke to each other in hushed whispers.

"Brother Deimos, this bodes ill for Father. His offensive has failed."

"Nonetheless, he has been strengthened by it, Brother Phobos."

"Yes, yes…but look into the plateau below. Our legions lie licking their wounds like so many injured dogs of war. We cannot hope to triumph through loss."

"Your tone concerns me, brother."

Phobos turned to Deimos, and patted him on one of his broad shoulders. "It does, does it? Well, perhaps it is the influence of Sister Eris."

"She has returned?"

"Hush, brother, hush…" muttered Phobos, conspiratorially placing a finger over his own lips.

=w=

Steve Trevor sat in his holding cell in James Garfield Air Force Base, incarcerated for alleged insubordination, assault on fellow servicemen, permanent damage to sensitive equipment and destructive sabotage of the Air Force's latest toy. This time, they'd even taken away his name tag.

His cell had a good enough view of the TV. He couldn't help but feel a little proud at what Diana had achieved today. He'd done his part, too, but it would remain an unsung triumph. It didn't matter. She had her own mission now, and her own life. It was just as well.

He looked down at his boots. The court-martial was going to begin in a short few hours. It'd be over in minutes. Sure, he'd saved Diana and all her friends, but there was no questioning everything he'd done. Even though Genl. Darnell had quietly resigned, Steve knew his own career was over, and he'd go graciously to its end.

Then, the atmosphere suddenly shifted. Chatter in the background died down, and some of the lights dimmed. Steve felt a chill wind waft through the double-locked door in the opposite corner of the rooms. There, flanked by dark-clothed MPs, was a man in civvies.

He had hair as white as cigarette ash and he stank of it too. Despite that, he wouldn't put the guy past forty. He'd looked like he'd been around, seen more than his fair share of wars. He walked slowly, deliberately – the pace of a man who knew what he wanted. He stopped in front of Steve's cell.

"Good evening, Major Trevor."

Steve looked up. "Unless you're promoting me, that's Captain Trevor, mister."

The other man seemed to ignore Steve's opener. "My name is Faraday. Special Agent King Faraday. I'm with a branch of the CBI. You might know it as Checkmate."

"I don't."

"That's the way it should be. Your 'Wonder Woman' is hardly the first super-powered human to make an appearance on the world stage, and she won't be the last. Checkmate is the US Government's answer to that."

"What's this got to do with me?"

"Checkmate is appointing you as the primary unofficial liaison between the USA and the Amazons. Your mission is to report on all of this 'Wonder Woman's' dealings and evaluate whether they overall are beneficial or detrimental to the interests of the state. In return, all charges against you are dropped, by order of Chairwoman Amanda Waller."

Steve leaned back on his backless bench. "Sounds interesting. I'll think it over."

"I didn't say I was giving you a choice, Major. On your feet, Trevor."

One of the black-clad MPs approached the cell door to unlock it. As he came closer, Steve noticed a little 'pawn' symbol on his badge. He didn't have time to ponder it further before he was dragged to his feet and marched out of the complex altogether. As he passed the final door to freedom, he heard King Faraday mutter one last parting shot.

"And yes, I do have your new rank correct, Major Trevor. Go enjoy the extra pay."

=w=

Far away, near the Dire Straits, on the isle Circe lived, the witch was brewing yet another of her vile potions. It was giving off thick fumes which would've been instantly lethal to any mere mortal. She was planning on testing it out on a few of her swine later in the afternoon; by her calculations it'd make them sprout wings.

The thick smoke and the sounds of flasks rattling as their contents boiled almost totally obscured the sights and sounds of the outer world – but not quite. The sound of her door being bashed open caused Circe to wheel around and whip off her goggles and face-scarf.

Framed in it was Orana, along with a whole host of Amazons, all with the same peeved expression.

"It's over, witch," she spat, holding her sword in front of her.

"Why, my dear Amazons, whatever do you mean? What have I-?"

Orana took a step forward, even as Circe prepared a spell under the folds of her sleeves. "Enough lies. We know it was you who started our plight by exposing Themyscira to Man's World."

Circle spluttered, "What-I-NO! Ares swore-"

"You would be unmolested by he and his forces? Yes, witch, he also told us of your…agreement. But you should know better than to make deals with the God of War. He may have sworn to ignore you, but we are unbound by his pacts."

Finally, realising the rank deception that had been pulled on her, Circe furiously released a thunderbolt at Orana – who nonchalantly deflected it with her bracers. Again and again she tried, but to no effect.

Holding up a set of manacles, Orana firmly said, "Come quietly with us, witch, or there will be…trouble."

The Amazons closed in on Circe, her back to the wall, returning naught but a defiant glare…

=w=

The door opened on a sparsely decorated apartment – the US Government's latest gift to Steve Trevor and Diana. Steve held it open for Diana, who was carrying a stack of boxes that grazed the door frame. She put them down effortlessly, and then took in another batch.

Before long, they were finished with moving the bulk of Steve's earthly possessions into the apartment, along with the small number of items Diana had brought from Themyscira. Exhausted, Steve dropped into the sofa while Diana explored the new flat.

She came back, smiling. "Well, there is one piece of good news, Steve Trevor."

He leaned back, asking, "What's that?"

"You need not sleep on the couch any more."

Steve sat bolt upright, turning to Diana. "What do you mean by that?"

"They provided two bedrooms."

"Oh."

He slumped back into the sofa, turning to the remote control now. "Well, at least they were nice enough to give us cable with the place."

The television crackled to life. It was an emergency report; a derelict tenement, having taken too much abuse over the years, was now alight, with dozens of people trapped inside. Fire trucks were racing to the site, trying to put it out to little avail.

Steve sat up again, turning to his companion.

"Diana…?"

"I'm on my way."

With that, and a deft spin, Diana changed into the garb of Wonder Woman, and was gone within a matter of seconds, darting out the windows of her new home to the aid of innocents in peril.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And that's it for the double-length pilot! Hope this update of her origin story's good enough. Now, that's out of the way..._

_**NEXT TIME ON WONDER WOMAN: **__A jilted scientist! A dangerous invention! A chilling crime-wave! Join us next time...with "Blue Christmas!"_


	7. Book 2, Prologue - Blue Christmas

PROLOGUE

Craig Vickerson woke up. The house was freezing. Strange, too, given it was barely the beginning of autumn. He swore he'd cranked up the thermostat, too. He got off the bed and headed over to the controls.

He fell over. The ground was as cold as ice, and just as slippery. Gripping on to his chilly duvet, he slowly got to his feet and sidled over to the thermostat controls. His fingers slipped on the dial – it had been completely iced over.

He was shivering. He looked outside. Whatever the weather was like at this time of the year, it had to be warmer. When he caught the hooligan who'd messed with the AC in the house, he'd…he'd…he'd figure what to do later. He was too cold to think.

After nearly falling down the frosted-over stairs, he somehow managed to make it to the front door. A fine mist was forming on the corners of his bathrobe, and he saw his breath trail away from his mouth.

He gripped the door handle and turned. Pulling the door open, he found his hand stuck to it, frozen there by the sheer cold. It didn't…it didn't matter. He'd warm up once he was – outside?

The door opened to reveal a figure. Even before he could ask him who he was, Craig was covered in coolant. He reached out with a hand that was quickly frosting over. His fingertips never made it to the figure. In a matter of seconds, Craig Vickerson was immobile on the threshold of his house, now an ice palace to match, his death-scream forever frozen in his throat.


	8. Book 2, Chapter 1

The cool autumn morning of Columbia City had exploded into an orgy of violence. An armoured truck sat outside the Third National Bank. Its former occupants, six armed robbers, were inside the bank, holding the patrons hostage while their leader forced the staff to take sacks of banknotes out of the main vault at gunpoint.

One of the tellers nervously eyed the crooks, and then passed his eye towards the silent alarm under the table. It was just out of reach, but the robbers were watching out for any sudden movements. Three of them stood guard near the exits. The others were pacing around the main hall.

Then, there was a sudden loud noise outside the bank. Everyone's attention turned to the entrance for a moment. He saw his chance, and reached for the button – only to stare down the barrel of a hunting rifle, converted to full-auto.

The robber snarled, "A hero, huh? Get up. We'll show you all what we do to heroes."

But before anyone else could make another move, the sound echoed through the bank again. The ruined chassis of an armoured van crashed through the doors. It was followed by Wonder Woman, calmly walking towards the robbers.

They recovered quickly, and turned all their weapons on the sudden intruder. She raised her arms, and their rounds bounced harmlessly off her bracers. Before they could begin another salvo, her lasso had unclipped from her belt.

In one swift move, it sailed through the air, snatching two of the robbers. A simple twirl sent them flying towards their comrades. Guns and robbers fell left and right, the former quickly being separated from the latter by the security guards.

One of the guards hollered, "Wonder Woman! There's still one in the vaults!"

She dashed towards it. The door was closing quickly. She was barely able to see their leader's sneering face and the terrified one of one of the clerks before it slammed.

From the other side, a voice boomed, "That's far enough, Wonder Woman! Tell the cops I'm not coming out unless they let me go free! I've got a hostage in here with me. Make any sudden moves and the b*tch dies!"

Diana responded, "Very well."

Less than a second later, she tore the solid steel door off its hinges and threw it like a toy into a corner of the vault. The crook's finger tightened around the trigger of his pistol. When it fired, he found himself standing alone in the centre of the vault, with Wonder Woman between him and the clerk.

In even less time than that, the fight was over. Dragging the unconscious robber by the collar of his coat, she deposited him on the stairs of the bank.

Outside, the usual police teams were milling around to gather evidence. Three officers were unsuccessfully trying to push back the tide of reporters and photographers attempting to catch a glimpse of their city's latest hero.

"Wonder Woman-"

"-just smash through that armed gang?"

"What do you think of-"

She turned to the budging press crowd. All the time she'd spent here, and that was the one thing she was still uncomfortable with. All they did was bombard her with questions, but answering them truthfully only led to more and more queries. There was no privacy when it came to those people.

After answering a few perfunctory questions from the representative of the police force there, she took to the skies, gliding along the gentle air currents and viewing her new home from high above. Office tower after office tower passed her by as she made her way through the city.

Then, a faint voice reached her ears.

"Wonder Woman! Hey, Wonder Woman! Over here!"

She turned her head to see a young woman in a suit and skirt hopping up and down excitedly atop the roof of one of the many skyscrapers. She was holding a pad of paper and a pen in one hand and waving frantically with the other.

In a few moments, Diana descended to face the other woman. Her black hair was tied in a short ponytail and a pair of large watery electric blue eyes peered at Diana behind her horn-rimmed glasses. She seemed to be unable to know to begin talking.

"Uh-I-I…"

Diana placed her hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"Be at peace, sister. Tell me who you are and why you have called me."

The other woman blinked thrice before she spoke.

"Well…my name is Lily Brown…I'm the secretary to Mizz Priscilla Rich, and basically, she wants to talk to you to hammer out a deal."

Diana looked at her. "Forgive me, but who is this 'Ms. Priscilla Rich'?"

Lily Brown's eyes widened. "You don't know? Well, she's basically like the woman around town to know. She runs her own cosmetics line, she owns a private museum and even her own philanthropic fund to educate a bunch of underprivileged kids in the slums."

"Ah. So why does she wish to speak to me?"

"She says she can help you out…and vice versa."

Diana looked to the skyline. "A business arrangement?"

"Well, in a way…"

She turned to look back at the secretary. "Forgive me if I say I have my priorities. I have no need of money now."

The secretary took a step towards her, gazing at Diana with nigh-pleading eyes. "You're not going to even consider it?"

"Well…"

"You know what? You don't need to decide now. Here's her card."

She passed Diana a small rectangle of stiff paper. Written on it was a long string of Arabic numerals – a 'phone number', as Steve had called it. People entered them on their 'phones' to contact other people up to half the world away. She received it politely and tucked it away in a pouch on her belt.

With a great leap, Diana took to the air again, leaving Lily Brown alone on the rooftop. The secretary pulled out a stick of gum and proceeded to ruminate on it as she stepped into the stair door.

=w=

Meanwhile, at the home of Mr. Craig Vickerson, Esq., Major Steve Trevor dismounted from the unmarked black car to his first real day on the job. They were right when they said he couldn't miss the crime scene: the place looked like an igloo. The walls were covered in blue ice.

The weather was already bad enough as it was; he could feel the temperature fall ten degrees as he came closer to the house. A cop at the perimeter, dressed in a thick overcoat held out his hand as Steve approached.

"Sorry, sir, I'm going to have to stop you there-"

Steve opened up his wallet, to reveal a freshly-minted ID card printed by the CBI. Next to an old passport photo of him was a small picture of a black chess piece. The policeman's question hung in the air, and then faded as he let Steve pass without another word.

Steve walked up to the front porch. There, two spots marked the final steps that Craig Vickerson had ever taken. Only the barest of puddles had formed around them. He extended a finger to feel the misshapen oval on the ground, before a gloved hand grabbed his wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, friend. Hate to have to pry your finger to the ground."

Standing up, Steve turned to look at the stranger. He was a youngish-looking police inspector, probably closer to 20 than 30. A feeble attempt at a moustache had sprouted up under his nose, but that was balanced out by the square jaw and the cleft chin framing his face. He introduced himself.

"My name's Inspector Mike Lamont, CPD. Now then, who are you?"

"Major Steve Trevor, CBI."

The other man's rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Just what we needed. The Feds want a piece of this, now the CBI. Your guys have been crawling all over this place since last night."

Steve's eyes narrowed. "Last night? You mean the ice…"

"Oh, yeah. Stuff's been there a solid nine hours."

"It isn't that cold yet. How come it hasn't melted yet?"

Using a scalpel, Inspector Lamont scraped off some of the blue ice from the ground and held it up to Steve's eye. The stuff was causing the blade around it to freeze up in a matter of seconds.

"The forensics guys call it 'Blue Snow'. Shorter way of saying '1,1,1,3-Tetrachloro-2,2,3-trifluoropropane'."

Steve blinked. "Say again?"

"Blue Snow. Funny thing is, this stuff isn't even on the market yet. The only corporation that makes it is the John Mahlon Chemicals Corp., and last we knew they haven't mass-produced the stuff."

"Then where did it all come from?"

"That's the question we're all asking ourselves. We're wrapping up here, then we're going to interview the two inventors of this 'Blue Snow.'"

"I'm coming along."

Inspector Lamont slowly turned around to stare Steve full in the eye. "The hell you are…major. This is a police matter."

Steve showed him the same pass that had let him in the first place.

"You can't be serious. The Agency wants a piece of this? Tell them the Icicle wasn't in town for the last 48 hours and stick that up their craw."

"I'll do that, all right…once we're done here."

"Goddamn hell. All right, Major, you want to tag along so bad, here's the address of the first one."

Lamont scribbled an address down on a sheet of loose notepaper, prefacing it with the name "James Dewey", before nearly throwing it at Steve, heading angrily over to the squad car. Just before he slammed the door shut, he had one last parting shot to give.

"See you there in half an hour. Go get your own ride there, Major – we're full up."

With that, and the revving of an engine, the police were gone, leaving only Steve and the cleanup crew with the futile task of getting rid of all the ice. With a shrug of his shoulders, Steve returned to the same black unmarked car he'd taken there and started up the engine when he felt a vibration coming from his pocket.

He took out his old handphone – not the bleeding-edge 'smart' one that Faraday had given him when he got press-ganged into Checkmate, but an old Nokia – and checked who was calling. It was a simple "DIANA", using the phone he'd bought her.

Steve drove away, talking at the same time.

"Hello?"

Her voice came through, a smooth tone with a hint of sparkle in it, unblemished even by the rough transmission. _"Hello, Steve."_

A smile came to his face, unbidden. "Hey. What's up?"

=w=

Diana sat atop a radio tower looking down on the city, swinging her legs across a pylon to seat herself more comfortably, leaning back on one of the girders that propped the massive antenna up.

"I've…been approached."

_"What?"_ Steve asked, the incredulity obvious in his voice.

Diana was quick to clarify, "By a businesswoman. She is named Priscilla Rich."

_"_The_ Priscilla Rich? Multimillionaire, fashion designer, philanthropist and collector?"_

"The very one."

With a small leap, Diana took to the skies again.

_"What's she want?"_

"I do not know. She's given me a number to call should I wish to respond."

_"So call her."_

"I will…but should I meet with her, I would like you to accompany me."

=w=

Steve paused at the red light, his hands-free set dangling from his ear, microphone hanging in front of his mouth.

"All right…but why?"

_"I'm unfamiliar with business customs of your world. I would appreciate your help."_

"Sure thing, Diana. I've got to warn you, though; only legal jargon I know was wrangling through my insurance policy. At any rate it's going to have to wait till after work."

_"Understood. Good day, Steve."_

"Bye."

The call ended. Steve pondered as he drove to the lab where Dr. James Dewey worked. Less than a week in America and Diana was already getting all the…right…wrong attention. He didn't know Rich personally, but Steve had never trusted people with more than six zeroes in their bank accounts. She was a philanthropist, though. Suppose that counted for something. He'd never been to her museum, but apparently it was worth the price of the ticket – most of the twenty bucks of it.

He put those thoughts aside. He was at the corner of the Vixen Road building where Dr. James Dewey worked. Outside, the letters of words JOHN MALON CHEMICALS CORPORATION (BRANCH OFFICE) were engraved on a solid chunk of black marble, painted gold. Steve got a sudden chill; it reminded him of way too many tombstones.

Inspector Lamont's car was already outside. Steve hurried into the building, where he saw a receptionist at the far end of the waiting room. She sat at the table, nonchalantly tapping away at her desktop computer, only bothering to look up when Steve was right in front of her. Even then it'd taken a forced cough to get her attention.

"…Yes?" she asked, looking at Steve through the tops of her glasses.

"I'm here to see Dr. James Dewey."

She drawled, "You and half the police force, Mr…"

"Major Steve Trevor, CBI."

"I'm going to have to see some identification, Mr. Major Trevor."

After he briefly showed his identity card to her, she gestured to the elevator at the end of the corridor.

"Third floor. You can't miss it, Mr. Major."

"Yeah, thanks."

Steve plodded down the hallway and called the lift. He was still trying to get used to his new role. Everywhere he went his CBI ID card had opened doors for him. He wondered if it gave him discounts anywhere as he watched the numbers tick upwards.

The elevator doors moved aside to reveal another hallway. Laboratories and offices passed Steve on his right and left as he navigated the maze of corridors in the research building, listening out for any murmur of conversation.

Sure enough, two cops were guarding the entrance to a spare office, where Inspector Lamont was grilling Dr. Dewey as they sat opposite each other, with only a table between the two of them. Dr. Dewey looked at Steve contemptuously as he entered the room.

"Oh, now what's this? Are we playing the 'good cop, bad cop' routine?"

Steve examined him. Dr. Dewey was pushing his 50's, balding and balancing a pair of circular-lens glasses on his beak-like nose, very much the picture one would think up when asked to think of a scientist.

Lamont leaned in towards Dewey, returning his look with his piercing blue eyes.

"No, Dr. Dewey. He's a Fed. I gave you the chance to come clean but now you've gone and made trouble for yourself."

"I don't care. I'm not saying a thing until you people come back here with a proper warrant."

"We're only asking a few questions, Dr. Dewey. My friend in the doorway doesn't need one to make you squeal. He's with the CBI."

The scientist's gaze darted from the inspector's to Steve and back to Lamont again. Steve knew Lamont was using him as a bluff, and played along, giving his stoniest expression. After a few moments of hesitation, Dewey turned back to Lamont, slightly more cooperative this time.

"All right, what do you want to know?"

Lamont relaxed in chair, and cocked his head to the sergeant with him, who started pencilling notes.

"Thank you, Dr. Dewey. We're investigating a suspicious… occurrence at the home of Mr. Craig Vickerson."

Dr. Dewey's eyes widened. "Mr. Vickerson? The board member? What's happened to him now?"

"That's what we'd like your help with. We found traces of the chemical known as…'1,1,1,3-Tetrachloro-2,2,3-trifluoropropane' there."

"Blue Snow?"

"Precisely. Now, who would have access to any amount of it?"

Dewey pondered the question for a while. "Well…I've got a few small samples here…Henry Compton's got some in his lab across town."

"Has mass-production begun yet?"

"Doubt it. We only managed to get it approved for production last week."

"Who has access to the formula?"

"Only employees of John Malon Chemical Engineering Corp. We developed the coolant privately."

Lamont scratched at his chin. "Who worked with you on 'Blue Snow', Dr. Dewey?"

Dewey's eyes darted to the table. "Only me and Compton."

"Therefore, since only you and Dr. Henry Compton have access to the formula and understand it, only you or he can account for its presence at the scene. Am I correct to say that?"

"Well…well…someone could have stolen it…I suppose?"

"Can you account for all your samples?"

Steve's mind wandered as he listened in on Lamont's cross-examination. Ever since he'd asked about who would be able to use Blue Snow his answers had become evasive. He was hiding something, to be sure. If only Diana was here with that fancy lasso of hers – Dewey would be spilling everything now.

Remembering her reminded Steve of his appointment later that day. Hopefully he could wrap things up fast enough here. He tuned in just in time to hear the standard questions on his whereabouts between the hours of so-and-so, which Dewey claimed that they could verify by checking the security cameras in the building. He'd spent the night at home, which he gave the address to.

With a few customary formalities, the policemen filed out of the office, leaving Dr. Dewey where he was. Steve followed them closely, catching up to Lamont.

"So, how does he check out?"

Lamont flipped through his notes. "Seems innocent enough."

"But he's hiding something. He seemed to be addressing his shoes when you asked him who worked on the coolant with him."

A twinkle seemed to enter Lamont's eye. "You'll make a cop yet, Major. It seems like I'm going to have to do a little more digging around."

They were on the ground floor. Lamont passed Steve a card with Henry Compton's name and work address on it and turned towards his squad car. Before the door closed, he shouted to Steve.

"By the way, thanks a lot, Major."

Steve cocked his eyebrow. "For what? Being your bogeyman?"

"Yeah. Before that you were just a burden," replied Lamont, mirth obvious in his tone.

The police car pulled away, leaving carbon monoxide in its trail. Steve allowed himself an ironic smile as he started the engine of his nondescript black sedan. He was about to enter the address into his GPS before his stomach rumbled. A quick glance at the dashboard clock told him it was already lunchtime.

He decided to head over to his favourite joint. A delay of a few minutes at Big Belly Burgers couldn't hurt. Maybe Diana could even join him there. Even Amazons had to eat, he reckoned. He pulled out his phone and hit redial.

=w=

Dr. Henry Compton, chemical engineer, was busy at work stabilising a new chemical batch. He hadn't worked with Dewey since the two had gotten Blue Snow approved. It was wrong, but he'd gotten the money for it already. Regrets were to be pushed to the past…but he couldn't help but feel a little sorry.

He realised he was distracted, and turned his close attention to the pipette. He patted his gloved fingers on his lab coat. The air-con must have been faulty. He'd go adjust it in a while. But then the temperature dropped again, and he decided to go and do it there and then.

A jet of some fluid suddenly coated the chair, and he found himself stuck to it. He pushed on the table and wheeled around – to see his doom. He barely had time to shout out in shock before he, too, got frozen on the spot.

Outside, a police car entered the carpark, and its occupants started filling out into the building…

=w=

In the meantime, Diana flew to the top of her apartment block and withdrew a set of clothes she'd bought when she first arrived in the city. With a deft twirl and a spin, she transformed from Wonder Woman to just Diana.

Hidden by a thick pair of amber-tinted sunglasses, a tank top with a jacket over it and a pair of jeans, one would have difficulty conflating her with the heroic figure of not so long ago. With a series of quick tugs, she pulled her flowing locks into a neat braid and headed down the elevator.

The diner that Steve had invited her to was his usual haunt. It served a number of thoroughly oily and unhealthy dishes, but had the decency to offer several salads, though covered gratuitously with thick sauce. When questioned on his eating habits, Steve responded his schedule had more than enough exertions to compensate for it.

Food on Themyscira was simple but delectable, and her sisters never ate to excess despite the island granting more than enough for all. A little oil of olives and a few springs of herbs on a length of lamb, cooked over a slow fire, served with sides of carefully preserved goat cheese had been the final meal she'd eaten before coming to America.

There he was, at his usual spot. She sat opposite him, taking off her sunglasses.

"Hello, Steve."

"Hi, Di. So you said Priscilla Rich approached you with some kind of offer?"

"Yes."

"Any idea what it's about? Advertising, licensing, public appearances?"

The food came. Steve had a steak lathered with a thick brown sauce with pepper in it, and a few pathetic wads of overcooked vegetables on the side. He had neglected to specifically request for the overly rich salad dressing to be placed on the side of Diana's salad bowl.

Scraping sauce off with her vegetables with her cutlery, Diana replied, "I don't know. What were the first two possibilities you mentioned?"

Between bites of his steak, Steve explained, "Advertising means your face would end up on all of those posters, magazine pages, so on and so forth."

"And dress as Priscilla Rich wants, showing what she wants to sell?"

"Well, uh, yeah. You got it in one."

Diana took a mouthful of her salad, slowly ruminating. "What's licensing?"

"It means that they'd get permission to use your likeness how they liked it. So instead of a _physical_ you on those adverts, there'd be an _illustrated_ version of you shilling her products and her events, or someone dressed like you."

"Why would she want that?"

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Go figure. Maybe she thinks you're hot news after you saved the city from Ares's bad guys."

"And why would I want to go along with her?"

Steve painted lines of ketchup on his plate with his French fry. "Well, you said your mission was more than taking me home and beating Ares. Maybe this is how you can spread your message. I don't know. I think it's worth discussing with her at any rate. Just remember: don't sign anything or put your thumbprint on it, and you'll be fine."

Diana swallowed a mouthful of lettuce. "Understood, Steve. So will you…"

"I'll give you a call. I'm probably going to do overtime today."

Looking at Steve quizzically, Diana asked, "What precisely is it that you now do, Steve?"

Steve gulped down the chunk of beef in his throat, finding the best way of phrasing what he was going to say. He couldn't possibly say that he was spying on her, could he?

Diana asked again. "Steve?"

"I, uh, got transferred to military intelligence. I'm helping the cops investigate some strange cases."

"What makes them so strange?"

"They're not, uh, well…normal."

"That's a tautology, Steve."

He waved it aside, gazing at the street outside. "You know what I mean. I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to discuss it, Di. You know you could force it out of me, but you're going to have to believe me for now. That's what we call trust."

"Very well."

He got up abruptly, glancing at his watch. "At any rate, I have to go. The case I'm looking into can't wait. Good talking to you. I'll give you another call if I'm free later. Bye, Diana."

Steve left two ten-dollar bills on the table, and headed to his nondescript black car, leaving Diana with her unfinished meal on the table. He'd left so quickly that her "Goodbye" had been lost to the wind. Idly picking at her food, Diana passed into thought about his evasive ways.

=w=

As he made his way to the building where Doctor Compton worked, Steve, too, was thinking to himself. This task that Agent Faraday had thrust on him: spying on Diana…what had he been thinking? Right there was a woman who owned a magic lasso that could make him tell her everything she wanted him to, and he expected him to keep secrets. What a job.

And now there was all this business with Priscilla Rich. Diana had barely spent a week in the city and its biggest media mogul already wanted a piece of her. Diana wasn't naïve – not by any stretch – but all the people she'd known to that point give or take a god of war and a sorceress, were honest and supportive.

For all her philanthropy, Ms. Priscilla Rich could be utterly ruthless when it came to competitors. Sure, she could play nice and give you all the help you needed – but God help you if you crossed her. He made a silent prayer, hoping that he would be savvy enough not to get entrapped when they eventually met.

But there would be time enough to think about such things later. Right now, he had some case to investigate, and here was Dr. Henry Compton's laboratory. Flashing the CBI pass was enough to get him waved in, and the front desk receptionist told him to head up to the fourth floor.

The cold front struck him as the lift door opened. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Steve pulled his Beretta from its shoulder holster and chambered a round, slowly heading down the corridor, which was getting chillier with every step. Mist flowed from his mouth as he exhaled, and the walls were coated with ice.

There was a sound of something like breaking glass from around the corner. Steve froze and pressed himself against the wall. A chunk of ice rolled from around the corner. Steve squinted and tried to take a closer look at it.

It was a human finger, encased in blue-tinted ice…


End file.
